Main  Lib. 


LOCKED 
CASE 


Y 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


<u  K^r  c  >K 


»J5/0»5  M).  6^>  ^6  7  - 
BIOLOGY  ' 

LIBRARY 


jr 


Mrs.  J.  G.  LEMMON, 

Author  and  Illustrator, 


Prof.  J.  G.  LEMMON, 
Author  and  Celebrated  Botanist. 


HANDBOOK 


J.  G. 


OAKLAND,  CAL, 


SINGLE  COPIES,  ONE  DOLLAR. 


Liberal  discounts  to  teachers  and  educational  institutions. 


"Good  English  names  with  plain  descriptions  of  your  noble 
Western  Trees."— SIR  J.  D.  HOOKER. 


THIRD  (POCKET)   EDITION. 
JULY,   1895 


No.  i. 


the  ancien  old   forest  .in  rho  Tuoluniiu; 

Rig-Tree  <irmv. 


P-REFACE 

The  Great  Northwest  Forest. 


The  ^presence  of  such  a  large  number  as  sixty 
species  of  cone-bearing  trees  in  Northwest  America, 
is  due,  principally,  to  the  fact  that  they  are  really 
natives  of  more  northern  or  more  elevated  regions, 
from  which  they  were  expelled  ages  ago,  by  the  ex- 
treme cold  of  the  last  Ice- Age;  which,  in  turn, 
retreated  before  a  Thermal  Age,  during  the  prevalence 
of  which  the  plants  returned  from  the  southern 
hemisphere  and  spread  over  the  temperate  plains,  or 
became  stranded  upon  the  cool  mountains — finding 
homes  only  where  their  constitutions  and  their  en- 
vironment permit  the  maintenance  of  life  and  perpet- 
uation of  their  species. 

The  great  development  of  these  trees  into  larger 
forms  and  bearing  larger  fruit  than  trees  of  any  other 

(v) 


m  PREFACE. 

region,  is  clue,  principally,  to  the  tropic  heat  of  the 
ocean  current — Ku-ro  Si-wa — which,  striking  the 
Alaska  coast,  is  deflected  southward,  where  it  is  de- 
tained by  the  many  promontories  and  islands  of  the 
far-stretching  Pacific  Coast,  while  the  southeast  trade- 
winds  flowing  over  the  accumulated  warm  water, 
beconie  saturated  with  moisture,  which  they  carry 
upon  the  continent,  where,  meeting  with  cool  eleva- 
tions of  hill  and  mountain,  the  vapor  is  condensed 
and  deposited  in  torrents  upon  the  coast,  diminishing 
by  exhaustion,  as  it  passes  inland  from  range  to  range 
of  mountains,  finishing  with  a  slight  rainfall  upon 
the  vertebra  of  the  continent — the  far-away  Rocky 
Mountains. 

In  considering  the  power  and  tendency  of  these 
two  fundamental  climatic  agencies,  we  should  expeet 
to  find  the  densest  forest,  the  greatest  variety  of  trees, 
and  the  largest  growth  of  trunk,  cone,  and  leaf  in  the 
abundantly  watered  and  moderately  heated  mountains 
of  the  Pacific  Coast — and  such  is  the  exact  revealed 
result. 


PREFACE.  rii 

AN  APPEAL  FOR  GOOD  ENGLISH  NAMES. 

To  botanist*,  naturalists,  school  superintendents  and 

teaehers,  lumbermen,  travelers  and  tree  lovers  gen- 
erally, greeting: 

Let  us  institute  and  maintain  a  much-needed 
reform  in  the  use  of  English  or  vernacular  names  for 
our  Western  trees. 

Let  us,  first  of  all,  ignore  senseless,  inappropriate 
names  for  our  trees. 

Let  us  insist  upon  suitable  names. 

Let  us  insist  upon  descriptive  names. 

Let  us  insist  upon  distinguishing  names. 

Let  us  insist  upon  having  but  one  name  for  each 
kind  of  tree. 

Let  us  habitually  use  the  one  proper  name  until  it 
is  taken  up  by  the  public  and  made  the  popular 
name. 

I  am  not  now  advocating  the  popular  use  of  the 
scientific  names — that  will  come  about  in  due  time. 
The  youth  of  America  will  soon  be  ashamed  not  to 
be  as  familiar  with  our  principal  botanical  names  as 
with  household  words.  It  will  be  admitted  after  a 
moment's  reflection  that  the  only  really  distinguish- 
ing names  are  those  conferred  and  duly  published  by 
scientists  having  full  knowledge  of  an  object  and  all 
its  relations.  These  are  the  technical  names — those 


•viii  PREFACE, 

of  last  resort — for  they  alone    may  infallibly  distin- 
guish any  object  in  nature. 

These  names  are  written  in  Latin,  so  as  to  be  read 
and  understood  by  the  learned  of  all  nations,  but  the 
ordinary  English  reader  often  hesitates  about  dealing 
with  them,  not  knowing  that  they  are  generally  easily 
pronounced,  for  all  the  letters  are  given  their  proper 
sound,  none  are  silent,  and  every  vowel  is  in  a  sepa- 
rate syllable. 

,  The  conferring  of  English  or  vernacular  names, 
however,  is  often  left  to  the  indiscriminate  fancy  of 
thoughtless  persons — those  first  meeting  with  the 
object.  For  instance,  in  one  short  range  of  California 
mountains;  there  are  seven  different  species  of  pine. 
Four  of  these  pines  are  called  by  the  same  name,  and 
that  the  meaningless  one,  "Bull  Pine."  Now,  one 
of  these  species — Finns  Coulter! — bears  the  largest 
and  heaviest  cones  in  the  world,  often  weighing  five 
to  eight  pounds  each.  What  better  name  for  this 
tree  than  Big-Cone  Pine?  A  second — P.  Sabiniana 
— has  pea-green  or  grayish  foliage,  distinguishing  the 
trees  from  others  at  a  distance.  Gray-Leaf  Pine  is 
suggested  for  this  tree.  The  third  species — P.  Jeffrey  i 
— has  dark,  often  black  bark,  finely  checked,  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  fourth  species,  the  light-colored  well- 
known  Yellow  Pine— P.  ponderosa — with  which  it  is 
often  associated.  What  better  name  for  this  third 
tree  than  Black  Pine? 


PREFACE.  ix 

I  submit  the  following  names  for  our  Western 
Cone- bearing  Trees,  selected,  for  the  most  part,  from 
the  confusion  of  names  in  local  use,  where  such  were 
found  at  all  suitable  or  even  passable.  In  a  few  in- 
stances a  new  name  has  been  coined,  which  it  is  thought 
aptly  describes  or  designates  a  given  tree,  while  all 
senseless  or  inappropriate  names,  however  common  or 
popular  they  may  be  locally,  are  rigorously  ignored. 

The  subject  is  of  much  more  importance  at  this 
time  than  may  be  apparent  to  the  reader,  because 
attention  has  lately  been  called  to  our  forest  trees  by 
the  publication  of  extended  descriptions  accompanied 
by  illustrations  in  our  California  Forestry  Reports. 

Vernacular  names,  with  their  frequent  unfitness, 
are  apt  to  be  long-lived.  Shall  we  see  to  it  that  only 
appropriate  ones  are  used?  Example  is  a  potent 
teacher. 

Let  us  select  the  best  names ! 

Let  us  familiarize  the  good  names! 

Let  us  establish  the  right  names! 


CONTENTS. 


The  Great  Northwest  Forest Preface 

Appeal  for  Good  English  Names '    " 

Cone-Bearers— Natural  Order  CONIFERS 17 

Div.  I. — SPIEALES Spiral-cooed  Trees  17 

Tribe  1— ABIETINE.*: Northern  Pitch  Trees  18 

Sub-tribe  1— FASCICULE; Fascicle-leaved  Pitch  Trees  18 

Class  A.— PERSISTENTES Evergreen  Fasciculars  19 

1st  Genus— The  True  Pines Pinus,  Touin.  19 

Sub-Gen.  1  Strobus— The  Soft-wood  or  White  Pines 20 

Group  1— Long-cone,  Lumber  Pines (Elongate)  20 

No.  1— Sugar  Pine Pi  mis  Lambertiana,  Dougl.  21 

Purple-cone  Sugar  Pine Var.  purpurca — n.  var.  22 

No.  2 — Mountain  Pine P.  monticola,  Dougl.  22 

Finger-cone  Pine Var.  digitata—n.  var.  22 

No.  3— Arizona  White  Pine P.  Ayacahuite.  Var.  23 

Group  2— Alpine  White  Pines (Alpinas)  23 

No.  4— Rocky  Mountain  White  Pine P.  Jicxilis,  James  23 

Arizona  Flexilis  Pine Var.  macrocarpa,  Engelm.  23 

Xo.  5— White-bark  Pine P.  albicaulis,  Engelm.  24 

Struggling  character  of  the  Alpine  Pines : 24 

Sub  Gen.  2— Pinaster The  Hard-wood  Pines  24 

1st  Section-  TERMINALES Sub-terminal-coned  Pines  25 

Sub-Sec.  1— BRACHYPHYLL^E Short-leaved  Pines  25 

Group  1— Plume-branched  Pines (Plumosse)  26 

No.  6— Balfour  Pine P.  Balfouriana,  Jeffrey  26 

No.  7— Foxtail  Pine P.  aristata, Engelm.  26 

Group  2— True  Nut  Pines (Edules)  26 

No.  8— Nevada  Nut  Pine P.  monophylla,  Torr.  and  Frem.  27 

No.  9— -New-Mexican  Nut  Pine..! P.  edulis,  Engelm.  27 

No.  10— Parry  Nut  Pine P  Parryana,  Engelm.  28 

No.  11— Stone-seed  Pinon P.  cembroides,  Zucc.  28 

Group  3 -Thimble-cone  Pines (Parviconse)  28 

(xi) 


xii  CONTENTS. 

No.  12 — North-coast  >e rub  Pine P.  cotitorfa,  Dougl.  2s 

Battling  Character  of  the  Coast  Pines L"J 

Bolander's  Pine Var.  (a)  Bolanderi,  Lemmon  29 

Henderson's  Pine Var.  (6)  Hendersoni,  Lemmon  30 

No.  13— Tamarack  Pine P.  Mirrrayana,  Balfour  30 

Jack  Pine P.  Banksiana,  Lambert  30 

Sub-Sec.  2— FRACTICON^: Broken-cone,  Lumber  Pines  31 

Group  1— Common  Lumber  Pines (Communes)  32 

No.  14 — Western  Yellow  Pine P.  ponderosa,  Douglas  32 

Brown-bark  Pine... Var.  (a)  nigr leans,  Lemmon  33 

Foothill  Yellow  Pine Var.  (&)  Benthamiana,  Vasey  33 

Rocky  Mt.  Yellow  Pine Var.  (r)  scopHlonim,  Engelin.  34 

No.  15— Black  Pine P.Jcffreyi,  Murray  31 

Sierra  Red-bark  Pine Var.  (a)  deflcsa,  Lemmon  35 

Peninsula  Black  Pine Var.  (b]  peninsularis,  Lemmon  35 

Montana  Black  Pine Var.  (c)  montana,  Lemmon  35 

Group  2— Little-known  Lumber  Pines (Xoritatc*)  35 

No.  16 — Arizona  5-leaved  Pine P.  Arizonica,  Engelm.  35 

No.  17— Broad-leaved  Pine P.  latifolia,  Sargent  36 

No.  18— Apache  Pine P.  Apacheca,  Lemmon  36 

2d  Section— LATERALES Lateral-coned  Pines  37 

Group  1 — Heavy-coned  Pines (Graves)  37 

No.  19— Torrey  Pine P.  Tonri/tmn,  Parry  3S 

No.  20— Big-cone  Pine P.  Cnnlftri,  Don  3s 

No.  21— Gray-leaf  Pine..1. P.  *aln'iii«>ia,  Dougl.  39 

Group  2— Closed-cone  Pines (Xcrotinr)  40 

No.  22— Monterey,  Pine P.  radiata,  Don  40 

Small-coned  M.  Pine Var.  (a)  fnhrrcnlntrt,  Lemmon  41 

Two-leaved  Insular  Pine Var.  (/»,  bhmfti,  Engelm.  42 

No.  23— Narrow-cone  Pine P.  nffcniHita.,  Lemmon  42 

Peculiarity  of  the  Narrow-cone  Pine 43 

No.  24— Prickle-cone  Pi  in' P.  /)/ti,r/r<if<i,  Don  43 

Anthony's  Pine :....Var.  Antfioni/i,  Lemmon  43 

No.  25— Chihuahua  Pine /'.  r!iihinthtnuici,  Engelm.  44 

Yearling  Cones  of  the  Pines 44,  45 

Recapitulation  of  the  Pine  Groups 46 

Genus  Cedrus— Link The  True  Cedars  47 

('lass  B— DKCIIMM-; Deciduous-leaved  Fasciculars  47 

2d  Genus -The  True  Larches Larix,  Link  48 

No.  1— Woolly  Larch Lari.r  Li/af/ii,  Parlat.  48 

No.  2—  Western  Larch....                       .,..L.  oecidenfalis,  Xuttall  4S 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

Pseudolarix The  False  Larch,  of  China  49 

Sub-Tribe  2— SOLITARY Single-leaved  Pitch  Trees  49 

Class  A.— PENDENTES... Pendent-fruited  Solitaires  (The  Spruces).  49 

Sec.  1— Naked-coned  Pendants (Inclusse)  50 

3d  Genus— The  True  Spruces Picea,  Link  50 

No.  1— White  Spruce Picea  laxa,  Sargent  51 

No.  2— Blue  Spruce P.  pungent,  Engelra.  51 

No.  3— Engelmann  Spruce ,P.  Engelmauni,  Engelm.  51 

Arizona  Spruce Var.  Franciscana—n.  var.  51 

No.  4-Tideland  Spruce P.  Sitchensis,  Carr.  52 

No.  5— Weeping  Spruce P.  Breiveriana,  Watson  52 

4th  Genus -Hemlock  Spruces Tsuga,  Carriere  53 

No.  1  —Western  Hemlock Tsuga  Mertensiana,  Carr.  53 

No.  2— Alpine  Hemlock T.  Pattoniana,  Engelm.  53 

Peculiarities  of  the  Alpine  Hemlock 54 

Hooker's  Hemlock Var.  Hookeriana— n.  var.  54 

Sec.  2- -Feather-cone  Pendants (Exsertae)  55 

5th  Genus— False  Hemlock-Spruces Pseudotsuga,  Carr.  55 

No.  1— Douglas  Spruce P.  taxi/olia,  Britton  56 

Peculiarities  of  the  Douglas  Spruce 56 

Cork-bark  Douglas  Spruce Var.  suberosa,  Lemmon  57 

No.  2— Big-cone  Spruce P.  macrocarpa,  Lemmon  57 

Class  B— ERECTES Erect-fruited  Solitaires    (The  Firs.)  58 

6th  Genus— The  True  Firs Abies,  Link  58 

English  Names  for  the  Groups  and  Species 59 

Group  1— Large-coned  Firs (Megacarpse)  60 

No.  1— Sub-Alpine  Fir,  Abies lasiocarpa,  Nuttall  60 

No.  2 — Lovely  Fir A.  amabilis,  Forbes  61 

No.  3— Noble  Fir A.nobili8,IAmlley  61 

No.  4 — Magnificent  Fir A.  magnifica,  Murray  61 

Shasta  Fir Var.  (a)  Shastensis,  Lemmon  62 

Golden  Fir Var.  (/;)  .i-autfiocarpa,  Lemrnou  63 

Group  2 — Small-coned  Firs (Microcarpse)  63 

No.  5— Grand  Fir A.  grandis,  Lindley  6? 

No.  6 — Colorado  White  Fir A.  concolor,  Lindley  64 

California  White  Fir Var.  Lotviana>  Lemmon  64 

No.  7— Bristle-cone  Fir A.  venusta,  Sargent.  64 

Symmetry  of  Fir  Branches  and  (Jones 65 

Tribe  2— Southern  Pitch  Trees AKAUCARIE.K  66 

Tribe  3  -  The  Taxodiads TAXODIE.*:  66 

Class  A.  -  Evergreen  Taxodiads SEMPEVIRENTES  .     67 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

7th  Genus— California  Redwoods Sequoia,  Endlicher  67 

No.  1— Coast  Redwood Sequoia  semper  Hrens,  End!.  68 

Tenacity  of  the  Coast  Redwoods 68 

No.  2— Giant  Sequoia S.  gigantea,  Decaisne  69 

Japan  Sacred  Cypress Crt/pfonxria  Jnponica  70 

Class  B.— Bald  Cypress DENUDE  70 

DlV.  II.— VERTICILL-CONE  TREES VERTICJLL^  71 

Tribe  One— Cypress  and  Allies CUPRESSINE.E  71 

1st  Pair— The  Arbor  Vitae (Thuinx)  72 

8th  Genus— True  Arbor  Vitae Thuya,  Linn.  72 

No.  1— Pacific  Red  Cedar Th.  plicata,  Lambert  72 

9th  Genus,  Incense  Cedar Libocedrus,  Endlicher  73 

No.  1 — White  or  Post  Cedar L.  decurrens,  Torrey  73 

2d  Pair — True  Cypresses (Ctipressi)  73 

10th  Genus— Flat-branched  Cypresses..Chama2cyparis,  Spach  74 

No.  1— Alaska  Cypress Ch.  Nutksensis,  Spach  74 

No.  2— Lawson  Cypress Ch.  Lawsoniana,  Parlat.  74 

llth  Genus— Spire-branched  Cypresses Cupressus,  Tourn.  75 

Group  1— Southern  Cypress (Australes)  75 

No.  1— Guadalupe  Cypress. C.  Guadalupensis,  Watson  75 

No.  2— Arizona  Cypress C.  Arizonica,  Greene  75 

Beautiful  Cypress Var.  bonita—n.  var.  76 

Group  2— California  Cypresses (Boreales)  76 

No.  '6— Monterey  Cypress C.  macrocarpa,  Hartweg  76 

No.  4— North-coast  Cypress C.  Goveniana,  Gordon  76 

Pigmy  Cypress Var.  pygmsea — n.  var.  77 

No.  5— Cal.  Mountain  Cypress C.  Macnabiana,  Murray  77 

CALLTTRIN^E The  Brittle-stemmed  Cypresses  77 

Tribe  2— The  Junipers JUNIPERINE.E  77 

12th  Genus  -True  Juniper Juniperus,  Linn.  78 

Sub-Gen.  1— Ox1*  CKDRUS Prickly  Junipers  78 

No.  1— Common  Juniper J.  comma  n  is,  Linn.  78 

Creeping  Juniper Var.  alpina,  Engelm.  79 

3ub-Gen.  2— SABINA Savin  Junipers  7<> 

No.  2— California  Juniper J.  Califormca,  Carriers  79 

Great  Basin  Juniper Var.  (a)  Utahcnsis,  Engelm.  79 

Stone-seeded  Juniper Var.  (b)  oxfcjKprriiHt.  Kngelm.  79 

No.  3  -Western  Juniper J.  occU(cntnlix,  Hooker  80 

One-seeded  Juniper Var.  (in.iinnionp'rnm,  Kngelm.  80 

Double-seeded  Juniper Var.  (b)  cinijn(/rnx,  Engelm.  H) 

Naked-seeded  Juniper Var.  (c)  gymnocarpu — n.  var.  80 


CONTENTS.  xv 

No.  4— Virginia  Juniper J.  Virginiana,  Linn.       81 

Sub-Gen.  3— CUPRESSOIDES Cypress-like  Junipers       81 

No.  5— Thick-barked  Juniper J.  pachyphlcea,  Torrey       81 

2d  Nat.  Order— TAX ACE.E Yews  and  Their  Allies       82 

13th  Genus— The  True  Yews Taxus,  Tourn.       82 

No.  1— Pacific—  T.  brevifolia,  Nuttall 83 

14th  Genus— The  False  Nutmegs Tumion,  Raf.       83 

No.  1 — California  Nutmeg T.  Calif ornicum,  Greene       83 

Coast  Nutmeg Var.  littoralis—n.  var.        84 

Personal  Characteristics  of  the  Cone-bearers 85-92 

Distribution  of  Western  Coniferse 93-101 

Announcement  and  Press  Notices 102-104 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


No.    1.  Stub  of  an  Ancient  Sequoia Opposite  Preface 

2.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  Lambertiana "      page    22 

o.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  Parryana "  "      28 

4.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  Murrayana "  "      30 

"      5.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  Jeffreyi "  "      36 

6.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  Coulteri "  "      40 

"      7.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pinus  attenuata "  "      44 

"      8.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Picea  Sitchensis "  "      52 

"      9.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Pseudotsuga  taxifolia..  "  "56 

"    10.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Abies  magninca "  "      62 

"    11.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Abies  magaifica,  Fa/1/- 

ety  Shastensis *'  "      64 

"    12.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Sequoia  gigantea "  "      70 

"    13.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Thuya  plicata "  "      74 

"    14.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Cupressus  macrocarpa  "  "      72 

"    15.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Juniperus  occidentalis  "  "      80 

"    16.  Foliage  and  Cones  of  Tumion  Californi cum.  "  "      84 

"    17.  Section  of  Trunk  of  Pinus  Lambertiana    ...  "  "    104 


CONE-BEARING  TREES 


-OF- 


NORTHWEST  AMERICA, 

North  of  Mexico  and  West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


APPROVED  ENGLISH  NAMES, 

WITH 

BRIEF  POPULAR  DESCRIPTIONS. 


"By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 

In  these  descriptions  enough  of  detail  is  given,  it  is 
hoped,  to  bring  out  the  characters  for  certain  identi- 
fication, upon  which  are  based  both  the  Latin  and 
English  names  of  orders,  tribes,  genera,  groups,  and 
species.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  English  name  is 
often  simply  the  translation  of  the  Latin  one. 

The  publication  of  these  brief,  popular  descriptions 
in  conjunction  with  the  selection  of  suitable  English 
names,  is  designed  to  aid  the  public  in  recognizing 
and  enjoying  the  trees  of  our  noble  Pacific  forest, 
nine-tenths  of  which  are  composed  of  these  Cone-bear- 
ers, comprised  in  sixty  species  and  twenty-five  marked 
varieties. 

The  plates — seventeen  in  number — selected  to  illus- 
trate the  principal  characters  distinguishing  Tribes, 
Genera,  and  Species,  are  mostly  copies  of  water-color 
paintings  by  Mrs.  Lemmon. 


CONE-BEARERS. 


FIRST     NATURAL     ORDER. 

CONIFERJE, 

(PINACE^E  of  certain  authors.) 

Resinous,  mostly  evergreen,  trees  (rarely  shrubs)  of 
cool,  mostly  northern  regions;  fruit  (called  a  cone) 
mostly  cone-shaped  and  scaly;  leaves  mostly  needle- 
shaped;  flowers  of  two  kinds,  male  and  female. 

Separated  by  fundamental  modes  of  development 
into  Two  Divisions: — 

i 

DIVISION    I. 

SPIRALES. 

THE    SPIRAL-CONE    TREES. 

PINES  AND  THEIR  ALLIES. 

Trees  with  spiral  development,  i.  e.,  their  leaves, 
bracts,  and  cone-scales,  arise  from  the  stem  or  cone- 


i8  WEST-AMERICAN 

axis,  in  spiral  lines  or  coils,  from  below  upward,  and 
from  base  to  apex.  Cones  requiring  at  least  two  sea- 
sons to  mature. 

Separated  by  general  characters  into  Three 
Tribes:— 

Tribe  One  -ABIETINE/E 
THE    NORTHERN    PITCH-TREES. 

Very  resinous  trees;  fruit  a  woody  or  leathery 
cone,  or  bur,  of  spirally  overlapping  scales  on  an 
elongated  axis,  each  scale  bearing  two  usually  winged 
seeds.  Flowers  monoecious,  i.  e.,  on  separate  branch- 
lets  of  the  same  tree.  All  natives  of  the  Northern 
Hemisphere. 

Separated  by  foliage-association  into  Two  large 
Sub-Tribes:— 

Sub  Tribe  One  -FASCICUL/E 
FASCICLE-LEAVED    PITCH-TREES. 

Trees  with  the  conspicuous  secondary  leaves  in  fas- 
cicles or  bundles  of  2  to  5  each,  or  in  elongated  tufts 
of  many  leaves  in  each. 

Separated  by -foliage-duration  into  Two  Classes; — 


CONE-BEARERS.  19 

Class  A.-PERSISTENTES. 

EVERGREEN    FASCICULARS. 

Trees  with  leaves  persisting  for  several  years ;  cones 
requiring  at  least  two  seasons  to  complete  their 
growth.  Two  Genera — PINUS  and  CEDRUS — True 
Pines  and  Cedars. 


First  Genus, 

THE  TRUE  PINES. 

Very  useful  trees  with  leaves  in  fascicles  of  2  to  5 
each  (one  species  single-leafed),  sheathed  at  base, 
with  scaly  wrappings.  Fruit,  a  cone  or  burr  of  di- 
verse forms — conical,  cylindrical,  and  globose — and 
requiring  two  years  to  mature  (two  species  require 
three  years).  Cone  scales  with  protuberances  usually 
tipped  with  spines  or  prickles.  Male  flowers  numer- 
ous, cylindrical,  \  to  4  inches  long,  usually,  forming 
a  rosette  at  or  near  the  end  of  branch  lets.  Seventy- 
seven  known  species,  twenty -five  in  Northwest  Amer- 
ica. (Only  the  twenty-five  American  species  will  be 
described  in  this  Hand-book.) 

Separated  chiefly  by  characters  of  the  wood  into 
Two  Sub-Genera: — 


20  WEST-AMERICAN 

Sub-Genus    I.     STROBUS. 

SOFT-WOOD  OR  WHITE  PINES. 

Cones  with  the  exposed  part  of  the  scales  (the 
apophysis)  usually  thin,  and  with  an  apical  protu- 
berance (urnbo),  devoid  of  prickles  or  spines.  Leaves 
in  5's,  short,  1  \  to  2  inches  long,  their  sheaths  loose 
and  deciduous. 

Wood  mostly  soft,  whitish,  less  resinous  than  that 
of  the  other  sub-genus.  Five  species  in  Western 
America,  in  Two  Groups;  — 

Group  I.    Long-Cone  Lumber 


Cones  long,  narrow,  cylindrical,  8  to  26  inches 
long  and  1  to  4  inches  thick,  on  long  stems,  becoming 
pendent  the  second  season  and  breaking  the  stem  at 
maturity.  Trees  usually  very  large,  with  grayish, 
finely-checked  bark;  foliage  light  green. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  group  of  trees  is  the  special- 
ized long  upper  limbs  bearing  the  cones,  and  the 
short  lower  ones,  which  soon  decay  and  fall;  thus  the 
trees,  self-trimmed  while  yet  small,  swell  out  their 
matchless  stems  with  smooth  trunks  reaching  up  to  a 
great  height,  affording  the  longest  clear  lumber 
lengths  for  saw-logs  of  any  tree  known. 

Three  Species:^— 


COVE-BEARERS'.  21 

No.  1 — Great  Sugar  Pine  -  Pinus Lambertiana,  Dougl. 
Trees  of  the  largest  dimensions,  120  to  200,  or, 
favorably  situated,  250  to  300  feet  high  and  10  to  20 
in  diameter;  lumber  easily  worked,  very  light,  white 
and  valuable  for  interior  finish,  for  doors,  blinds,  sash, 
etc.  Trees  never  occupying  a  region  exclusively,  but 
scattered  among  other  species  of  the  Coast,  Cascade, 
and  Sierra  Mountains  at  middle  elevations.  Cones, 
usually  a  bronze  green  until  ripe, '2  to  4  inches  thick 
(6  inches  when  opened)  and  very  long,  10  to  26 
inches — the  longest  known.  Male  catkins  numerous, 
yellow,  1  to  2  inches  long,  in  clustered  rosettes  near 
end  of  branches. 

The  GREAT  SUGAR  PINE  is  the  accepted,  the  crowned, 
prince  of  the  Pine  family.  Not  only  by  virtue  of  its  un- 
excelled dimensions  and  the  magnitude  of  its  cones  is  it 
regal,  but  it  is  a  most  kingly  monarch  in  its  majestic, 
lofty  bearing,  its  erect,  self-asserting  dignity,  and  its 
bowed  head,  obedient  to  its  only  masters— the  powers 
above.  Only  the  supreme  emperor  of  the  whole  vege- 
table world,  the  immense  Sequoia,  also  a  denizen  of  our 
great  Sierra  forest,  and  admitting  the  Sugar  Pine  to  fel- 
lowship, excels  in  dimensions  (every  way  but  in  fruit) 
this  noble,  dominant  tree  of  the  whole  western  world. 

We  can  well  imagine  the  ecstasy  of  delight,  and  excuse 
the  mild  self-gratulation  with  which  David  Douglas,  the 
discoverer  of  this  noble  tree,  writing  from  the  Falls  of  the 
Columbia  River,  March  24,  1826,  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Wm. 
Hooker,  of  London,  inscribes: — 


22  WEST-AMERICAN 

"  I  rejoice  to  tell  you  of  the  discovery  of  a  new  species 
of  Pine,  the  most  princely  of  the  genus,  perhaps  even 
the  grandest  specimen  of  vegetation  known.'' 

Douglas  also  reported:  ''The  trees  yield  a  sweetish 
substance,  which  I  am  almost  afraid  to  say  is  sugar."  It 
is  this  saccharine,  soluble  gum,  exuding  scantily  from 
injured  trees,  that  suggested  the  name,  "Sugar  Pine  " 

PURPLE-CONED  SUGAR  PINE.  Var.  purpurea.  n.  var.* 
A  smaller  form,  with  darker,  finer  checked  bark 
and  different  wood — well  known  to  lumbermen — and 
with  shorter,  purplish  cones,  less  attenuate  towards 
the  ends  than  the  typical  species,  often  accompanies 
it  in*  the  high  Sierra,  and  may  receive  the  above  names. 

No.  2 — Mountain   Pine       -         ^  monticola,  Dougl. 
Smaller,  lighter-barked  trees  than  the  preceding; 
in  subalpine  regions  of  the  Sierra,  but  northward  in 
Oregon,  Washington,  and  Montana,  found  at  lower 
elevations,  as  is  common  with  other  trees  that  are  al- 
pine in  southern  situations;  cones  narrow,  6  to  12 
inches  long;  scales  thin,  weak,  reflexed  at  maturity. 
In  some  localities  called  "  Little  Sugar  Pine." 
FINGER-CONE  PINE.     Var.  digitata.     n.  var.* 
A  small  form,  with  thicker,  darker  bark,  and  clus- 
ters of  small  cones  not  larger  than  a  man's  fingers, 
found  near  the  coast,  from  Northern  California  to 
British  Columbia,  may  receive  the  above  name. 


*New  varieties  not,  before  published. 


wood.  Lumber  Pines. 


CONE-BEARERS.  23 

No.  s-Arizona  White  Pine 

P.  Ayacahuite,  Ehrenb.     Var.  strobiformis,  Sargent. 

Large  trees  of  the  highest  mountains  in   Arizona 

and  Northern  Mexico,  with  cone-scales  long,  thick 

and   spoon-shaped,   strongly    reflexed    at    maturity 

(hence  once  named  P.  reflexa  by  Dr.  Engelmann). 

Croup  2.    Alpine  White  Pines. 

Alpince. 

Smaller,  often  depressed  and  very  aged  trees  of  the 
Southern  Kocky  Mountains  and  Great  Basin  region, 
or  alpine  on  peaks  of  more  northern  and  western 
regions. 

Two  species: — 

NO.  4— Rocky  Mountain  White  Pine 

P.flexilis,  James. 

Standard  or  sometimes  depressed  trees  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  a  few  on  the  peaks  of  certain 
mountains  of  Nevada,  Northern  Arizona,  and  the 
Southern  Sierra.  The  principal  timber  tree  of  Utah 
and  Nevada.  Branches  often  very  slender,  in  south- 
ern forms  (Northern  Arizona)  quite  robust. 
ARIZONA  FLEXILIS  PINE.  Var.  macrocarpa,  Engelm. 

A  round-headed  tree  on  the  San  Francisco 
Mountains,  Northern  Arizona,  with  more  robust 
branchlets  and  larger  cones,  6  to  8  inches  long. 


'  *4  WEST-AMERICAN 

No.  5— White  Bark  Pine  -  P-  albicaulis,  Engelm. 
Very  white-barked,  often  depressed  trees,  forming 
the  timber  line  on  certain  peaks  of  the  Sierra,  Cas- 
cade, and  Kocky  Mountains.  Cone  globular,  set 
close  upon  the  short,  stout,  erect,  white,  annual  stem. 

Peculiarities  of  the  Alpine  Pines. 

Usually  erect  and  aspiring,  15  to  30  feet,  in  the  edge 
of  the  alpine  forest,  these  white-limbed  trees  often  press 
up  along  the  glacier-graven,  wind-swept  passes  of  the 
mountains,  battling  with  eternal  snows  and  sand-blasts, 
until  they  become  depressed,  flat-topped  and  so  close- 
roofed  with  condensed  branchlets  and  leaves  that  one 
may  walk  as  safely  over  them  as  upon  a  platform  of 
planks.  These  sylvan  tables — prepared  in  the  wilder- 
ness and  just  tilling  a  rock  basin  to  its  rim — are  supported 
from  the  downhill  side  by  a  single  leg,  a  sturdy  trunk, 
only  a  few  feet  high,  yet  12  to  18  inches  thick;  close- 
grained  and  tough  as  hickory,  and  golden  yellow  with 
accumulated  pitch.  King  countings,  by  the  aid  of  a  lens, 
reveal  their  ages,  500  to  800  years.  Survivors  of  an 
early  generation,  they  are  protected  from  the  ruthless 
enemy — fire — by  their  isolation  and  their  half-yearly 
tomb  of  ice. 


Sub-Genus  2.    PINASTER. 

HARD-WOOD  PINES. 

Cone-scales  with  exposed  part  (apophysis)  generally 
thicker  than  those  of  the  other  sub-genus;  the  pro- 


CONE-BEARERS.  25 

tuberance  dorsal  (i.  e.,  on  the  back)  mostly  termi- 
nated by  a  conspicuous  prickle  or  spine;  leaves  various", 
usually  long,  in  fascicles  of  2,  3,  or  5,  their  sheaths 
mostly  persistent  for  several  years.  Wood  usually 
darker,  harder,  more  resinous  than  the  White  Pines. 

A  large  number  of  species,  19  in  western  America. 

Divided  by  position  of  cones  into  Two  Sections: — 


Sec   One.-TERMINALES 

SUB-TERMINAL-CONED  PINES. 

Cones  arising  among  the  leaves  near  the  end  of 
the  bearing  shoots,  or  just  below  the  bud,  usually 
falling  soon  after  ripening,  rarely  remaining  persistent 
for  several  years.  Male  flowers  forming  a  rosette  of 
many  long,  brown  catkins  at  the  end  of  bnmchlets 
with  the  leaf-bud  or  a  few  leaves  in  the  center — the 
position  of  the  flowers  corresponding  to  that  of  the 
cones. 

Three  Sub-Sections: — 

Sub-SCO.    I  m—Brachyphylfa. 

SHORT-LEAVED  PINES. 

Leaves  very  short,  1  to  2  inches  long,  their  sheaths 
soon  falling  away  in  the  two  first  groups. 
Three  Groups: — 


a6  WEST-AMERICAN' 

Group  I.   Plume-Branched  Pines. 

Plumosw. 

Cones  oblong,  cylindrical,  3  to  5  inches  long,  pen- 
dent from  the  long  plume-like  branchlets;  leaves  in 
5's.  Sub-alpine  trees  of  the  Kocky  Mountains,  Great 
Basin,  Arizona,  and  with  a  few  trees  on  the  Sierra. 

Two  Species:  — 
No.  6—  BalfOUr  Pine        -  P.  Balfouriana,  Jeff. 

A  few  trees  in  sequestered  nooks  on  Mt.  Eddy,  near 
Shasta,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Mt.  Whitney.     Nearly 
smooth  cones  with  very  small  prickles. 
No.  7—  FOXtail   Pine       -        -         P*  aristata,  Engelm. 

Similar,  but  smaller  trees,  on  a  few  peaks  of  the 
Southern  Sierra,  but  chiefly  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico, 
mountains  of  the  Great  Basin,  to  Colorado.  Cones 
with  conspicuous  half-inch,  bristle-like  prickles. 


Croup  2.    True  Nut-Pines. 

Trees  native  to  dry  interior  regions;  leaves  short, 
white-lined  above,  and  heavy-scented;  cones  small, 
globose,  on  short  stems,  from  which  they  promptly 
separate  at  maturity;  cone-scales  few,  thick,  protu- 
berant, but  devoid  of  prickles;  seeds  few,  large,  much 
used  by  the  aborigines  formerly,  and  by  the  Spanish 
Americans  at  present,  for  food.  Four  closely  related 
Species  in  Two  Pairs:  — 


CONE-BEARERS.  27 

AMERICAN  NUT-PINES. 

Cones  sub-globose,  \\  to  2  inches  thick;  scales  few, 
very  protuberant,  without  prickles,  widely  opening  at 
maturity,  loosely  holding  the  large,  delicious  seeds. 

No.  3-Nevada  Nut  Pine 

P.  monophylla,  Torr.  and  Frem. 

Small,  branching  trees  of  the  Great  Basin,  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  and  the  Tehachapi  and 
San  Bernardino  Mountains;  leaves  solitary,  robust, 
terete,  sharp-pointed;  seeds  large,  soft  shelled.  (The 
only  single-leaved  pine  known.) 

No.  9— New-Mexican  Pinyon  -  P-  eduiis,  Engeim. 
Small  trees  of  Colorado  and  southward  through 
New  Mexico  and  eastern  Arizona  to  western  T'exas. 
Headquarters  in  New  Mexico.  Branching  trees  with 
small,  few-scaled  cones  and  very  nutritious  seeds; 
leaves  slender,  mostly  in  twos;  the  seeds  largely  col- 
lected for  export  to  California,  southern  and  eastern 
markets.  (Perhaps  only  a  variety  of  the  preceding.) 


MEXICAN  PINYONS  OR  NUT-PINES. 

Cones  globose  and  seeds  much  like  the  preceding. 
(Not  strictly  in  our  northwest  development,  but 
partly  included.) 


28  WEST-AMERICAN 

No.  10— Parry  Nut- Pine  -  P>  Parryana,  Engelm. 
Small  trees  in  the  San  Kafael  Mountains,  on  the 
peninsula  of  Lower  California,  with  a  few  specimens 
extending  into  San  Diego  County,  California.  Cones 
smaller  than  the  preceding,  with  soft-shelled  seeds; 
leaves  in  5's,  often  in  4's,  robust. 

No.  11— stone-Seed  Pinyon 

P.  cembroides,  Zuccarini. 

Small,  round-headed  trees  of  Arizona  and  Northern 
Mexico,  with  small  cones,  but  with  very  large,  hard- 
shelled  seeds,  largely  used  in  Mexico  for  food  and 
much  exported.  Leaves  slender,  mostly  in  3's. 


Croup  3.    Thimble-Cone  Fines. 

Parviconce. 

Cones    very   small,    slender,   1   to    3  inches  long; 
leaves  short  and  in  pairs. 
Two  Species: — 

No  12— North-Coast  Scrub  Pine 

P.  contorta,  Dougl. 

Usually  small,  scrubby  trees,  on  sandy  dunes  and 
exposed  promontories  of  the  northwest  coast  of  Cali- 
fornia, northward  to  Alaska,  the  very  small  cones 
often  remaining  on  the  trees  for  many  years.  The 
cones  are  singularly  variable — even  on  the  same 


* 


I 


CONE-BEARERS.  29 

trees;  some  of  them  have  the  external,  basal  scales 
abnormally  developed  as  conical  tubercles  tipped 
with  a  strong  prickle;  others  are  tubercled  only  at 
the  end  of  the  cone;  others  still  are  tubercled  on  the 
outer  side,  from  end  to  end.  The  southernmost  trees 
(near  Mendocino)  often  become  quite  large — 25  to 
50  feet  high,  and  2  to  3  feet  thick,  the  bark  2  to  3 
inches  thick. 

This  is  the  northernmost  of  the  four  species  of  sea- 
loving,  fog-nurtured,  aggressive,  fighting  pines  of  our 
western  shore,  from  Alaska*  to  San  Diego.  Pressing 
along  the  promontories  too  near  the  sea,  they  are  beaten 
almost  prostrate  by  ocean  gales  and  become  close-set, 
-round-shouldered,  flat-headed,  many-limbed  trees  with 
dense  foliage,  offering  long  reaches  of  wind-breaks, 
behind  which  hosts  of  tender  plants  from  the  interior 
flourish  and  flaunt  their  profusion  of  flowers  in  serene 
security. 

BOLANDER'S  PINE.     Var.  (a)  Bolanderi,  Lemmon. 
P.  Bolanderi.     Parlat.     Prod,  xvi,  p.  379. 

A  dwarfed  form,  4  to  15  feet  in  height;  spire- 
shaped,  with  short,  narrow,  light-colored  leaves  an 
inch  long,  and  small,  variable  cones  (varying  on  the 
same  tree,  like  those  of  the  typical  form),  the  size 
and  color  of  tree  in  striMng  contrast  to  the  dark 
green  foliage  of  the  typical  species  found  abundantly 
on  the  near-by  coast.  On  the  white,  ashy,  narrow, 
almost  sterile  "  Plains"  paralleling  the  coast  at  Men- 


3o  WEST-AMERICAN 

docino,  a  few  miles  interior.     First  visited   by  Prof. 
H.  N.  Bolander,  1866. 

HENDERSON'S  PINE,     Var.  (b)  Hendersoni,  Lemmon. 

Larger  trees,  with  cone-scales  uniformly  developed 
(all  slightly  tubercled  at  the  external  base).  Bark 
of  largest  trees  broken  more  or  less  into  small  square 
checks,  resembling  white  oak.  Interior  of  western 
Oregon  and  Washington.  Some  of  the  characters 
first  detected  by  Prof.  L.  F.  Henderson. 

No.  13— Tamarack  Pine  P.Murrayana,  Balf. 

Tall,  slender  trees  in  wet,  sub-alpine  swamps  of  the 
Arizona,  the  Sierra  and  Cascade  Mountains,  north- 
ward to  Upper  Yukon  River;  also  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Cones  ovate-conical,  1J  to  2J  inches 
long,  uniform  in  length  and  scale  development.  Trees 
attacked  by  insects  and  bark-eating  birds,  hence 
usually  discharging  pitch  or  gum  very  abundantly. 
Bark  very  thin,  only  one-fourth  to  one-half  inch  thick, 
resembling  that  of  eastern  and  Old-World  Tama- 
rack, hence  the  tree  is  often  considered  to  be  a  true 
Tamarack.  Wood  tough  and  light-colored.  (Until 
recently  confounded  with  P.  contorta,  but  clearly 
distinct.)  * 

Another  small-cone  pine,  the  "Jack  Pine" — P.  Banks- 
iana—Si  native  of  the  northern  States  and  Canada,  ap- 
proaches the  Northwest  in  the  region  of  British  Colum- 
bia. It  is  a  small  tree,  with  its  peculiar,  small,  persistent 


CONE-BEARERS.  31 

cones  curving  and  pointing  toward  the  apex  of  the 
branch,  like  little  horns  (the  only  instance  in  the  family 
of  pines).  Leaves  in  pairs,  very  short. 


Sllb"SeC.    2, — Fracticonw. 

BROKEN-CONE  LUMBER  PINES- 

Cones  breaking  away  at  maturity  from  the  short 
stem  by  an  irregular,  transverse  fracture  within- the 
base.  They  are  of  medium  size,  ovate-conical,  4  to  8 
inches  long,  and  half  as  broad  at  base;  leaves  in  3's, 
5  to  8  inches  long.  Large  trees,  with  thick,  deeply- 
fissured  bark,  and  yellowish  wood  of  strong  fiber. 
Widely  distributed  at  middle  altitudes,  from  British 
Columbia  southward  along  the  mountain  ranges  to 
Mexico,  and  eastward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
Black  Hills.  Very  valuable  timber  trees. 

Many  thousands  of  square  miles  in  the  vicinity  of 
Truckee,  Madera,  and  Mt.  Shasta  have  been  denuded  of 
their  forest  covering,  mostly  composed  of  these  two  spe- 
cies, while  much  of  the  intervening  region  is  more  or  less 
stripped,  inviting  the  forest  fire  and  the  mountain  tor- 
rent, while  menacing  with  drought  the  now  fertile  plains 
below.  Happily,  under  favoring  circumstances,  many 
regions  are  being  re-forested  with  a  dense  growth, 
notably  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierra,  where  the 
first  clearings  were  made. 

The  Broken-Cone  Pines  form  two  groups: — 


32  WEST-AMERICAN 

Group  I.  Common  Lumber  Pines. 

Communes. 
Widely  distributed  and  variable  trees.  Two  species: — 

No.  14-Western  Yellow  Pine 

P  ponderosa,  Dougl. 

Trees  of  the  largest  size,  200  to  300  feet  in  height, 
and  5  to  15  feet  thick;  bark  an  the  typical  form, 
yellowish  or  whitish,  mostly  very  thick  and  deeply 
fissured  into  large  plates;  cones  conical-ovate,  2  to  5 
inches  long;  male  flowers  long  and  flexuous,  forming 
large  rosettes,  3  to  5  inches  across,  on  the  ends  of 
branchlets,  with  a  leaf-bud  or  a  few  leaves  in  the 
center.  The  broken  branchlets  exhale  an  odor  of 
turpentine.  First  detected,  1826,  by  David  Douglas, 
"between  the  Columbia  and  Spokane  Rivers,"  eastern 
Washington.  Afterward  found  to  be  widely  distrib- 
uted. 

The  first  thought  that  must  enter  the  mind  of  a  reflec- 
tive observer  when  he  finds  himself  in  a  Yellow  Pine 
forest  is  that  a  half  dozen  or  more  kinds  of  pines  are 
about  him,  and  such,  indeed,  is  the  lumberman's  view 
of  the  subject.  He  sees  whitish  or  yellow-barked  trees 
with  large  longitudinal  plates,  which,  when  cleft  by  his 
ax,  crumble  to  hundreds  of  buttons,  revealing  but  a  few 
layers  of  sap-wood.  The  next  tree  met  with  may  have 
darker,  harder  bark  and  more  layers  of  sap-wood.  A 
third  tree  will  intensify  these  characters,  and  so  on  until 
perhaps  not  five  rods  away  is  a  brown-barked,  low- 
limbed  tree  that  he  might  cut  almost  to  the  center  before 


CONE-BEARERS.  33 

reaching  the  heart-wood.  And  the  cones  of  these  several 
forms  will  vary  as  greatly,  generally  the  smallest  cone  is 
produced  by  the  lightest-barked  tree;  yet  all  belong  to 
the  one  species.  This  species — as  well  as  four  or  five 
others — has  been  called  by  thoughtless  persons,  "Bull 
Pine,"  a  meaningless  term,  unfit  to  apply  to  any  pine, 
besides  its  indiscriminate  use  for  half  a  dozen  species  has 
led  to  no  end  of  confusion. 

VARIETIES   OF    YELLOW   PINE. 
BROWN-BARK  PINE.     Var.  (a)  nigricans,  Lemmon. 

Trees  of  medium  size,  one  hundred  and  twenty  to 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  flourishing  in  moister 
situations  than  other  forms,  longer  retaining  their 
numerous  limbs,  hence  more  symmetrical  and  spire- 
shaped  or  rounded  in  outline. 

Bark  dark  brown  or  almost  black,  hard,  compara- 
tively thin,  rather  coarsely  checked,  sap-wood  of 
many  layers,  heart- wood  consequently  meager,  often 
very  resinous;  rosettes  of  male  flowers  especially  con- 
spicuous, 4  to  5  inches  across. 

This  form  is  generally  found  in  company  with  the 
larger,  typical,  whitish-barked  trees,  but  in  moister 
localities.  .  It  is  particularly  prevalent  in  small  val- 
leys and  along  the  edges  of  forests  in  the  Sierras,  and 
southward  to  Northern  Arizona. 

FOOTHILLS  YELLOW  PINE.   Var.  (b)  Benthamiana,  Vasey. 
Medium-sized  trees  in  the  Coast  Mountains  and 


34  WEST-AMERICAN 

Western  Sierra  foothills,  usually  spire-shaped;  cones 
smaller  and  narrower  than  the  preceding. 

ROCKY  MT.  YELLOW  PINE.  Var.  (c)  scopulorum,  Engelm. 

Trees  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  westward  to  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade 
Mountains.  The  principal  lumber  tree  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Leaves  often  in  pairs  and  remaining  on 
the  limbs  several  years. 
No.  15 — Black  Pin©  P-  Jeffreyi,  Murray. 

Chiefly  distinguished  from  the  ponderosa  species 
(with  which  it  is  often  associated)  by  the  trees  affect- 
ing usually  more  elevated  regions,  and  having  darker, 
finer-checked  bark  and  longer,  out-reaching  limbs;  the 
young  branchlets  and  leaves  are  slightly  colored  by 
a  whitish  powder;  also,  when  broken,  they  exhale  a 
pleasant,  aromatic  odor  like  that  of  orange;  cones 
large,  6  to  10  inches  long,  ovate,  with  strong  prickles. 
Male  flowers,  larger,  3  to  4  lines  in  diameter,  but 
shorter,  1  to  2  inches,  forming  dense  rosettes  or  heads 
with  a  leaf-bud  or  a  few  leaves  in  the  center. 

Trees  of  higher  localities  from  Western  Montana 
through  Idaho,  Oregon  and  California  to  the  penin- 
sula of  Lower  California;  particularly  abundant  on 
the  Southern  Sierra  and  the  San  Bernardino  Moun- 
tains. First  detected  by  Jeffrey,  near  Mt.  Shasta, 
1852.  Trees  of  this  pine,  near  Oroville,  Cal.,  are 
tapped  annually,  and  large  quantities  of  pitch  ob- 


CONE-BEARERS.  35 

tained,  which,  being  distilled,  forms  the  basis  of  med- 
ical preparations  called  Abietene,  Santa  Abie,  etc. 

VARIETIES    OF    BLACK  PINE. 
SIERRA  RED-BARK  PINE.     Var.  (a)  deflexa,  Lemmon. 

P.  deflexa.     Torr.  Bot.  Mex.  Bound.  209. 
This  form  constitutes  one  of  the  principal  timber 
trees  of  the  high  Sierra,  notably  near  Truckee.     The 
bark  is  usually  reddish  brown,  thick,  coarsely  checked 
as  if  braided,  especially  toward  the  top  of  the  tree; 
cones  large,  6  to  10  inches  long. 
PENINSULA  BLACK  PINE.    Var.  (6)  peninsularis,  Lemmon. 
On  the  San  Rafael  Mountains  of  Lower  California; 
bark  dark  brown,  thick,  deeply  furrowed;  cones  re- 
markably abundant  and  large,  6  to  8  inches  long. 
MONTANA  BLAC&  PINE.     Var.  (c)  monlana,  Lemmon. 
A  tree  of  the  lake   region  of  western  Montana, 
"with  purple  cones  and  long,  glaucous  foliage." 


Croup  2.     Little-Known  Lumber 

PineS.     Novitates. 
Three  Species  of  Arizona  and  Chihuahua. 
No.  16— Arizona  Five-Leaved  Pine 

P.  Arizonica,  Engelm,  1878. 

A  middle-sized  tree  40  *  to  60  feet  high,  branches 
spreading;  leaves  in  5's,  5  to  7   inches  long;  cones 


j6  WEST-AMERICAN 

oval,  2f  inches  long,  \\  thick,  scales  with  a  prominent 
umbo,  which,  in  the  lower  ones,  is  recurved,  and 
armed  with  a  small,  recurved  prickle.  On  the  highest 
mountains  of  Arizona  and  northern  Mexico.  First 
detected  by  Dr.  Rothrock,  in  the  Santa  Rita  Moun- 
tains, 1874. 

No.  17— Broad-Leaved  Pine 

P.  latifolia,  Sargent,  1889. 

Medium-sized  trees,  with  dark,  deeply  furrowed 
bark,  and  tortuous  branches;  leaf-bracts  f  inch  long 
with  scarious,  lasciniate  margin;  leaves  12  to  16 
inches  long  and  about  1  line  wide;  cones  ovate,  ob- 
lique, 3  to  5  inches  long,  the  scales  with  recurved 
apophyses  and  stout,  projecting,  mammillary  umbos 
tipped  with  slender  prickles.  Discovered  by  Dr. 
Henry  Mayer,  1887,  in  the  Santa  Rita  Mountains, 
southern  Arizona.  A  few  trees  in  the  Huachuca 
Mountains,  southward. 

No  18— Apache   Pine         •         P-  Apaeheca,  LemmoD. 

(ERYTHEA,  Vol.  II.,  No.  6,  June  1,  1894.) 
Yellow-barked  trees  of  medium  size,  with  robust 
branchlets,  large  and  long  leaves  10  to  14  inches, 
their  bracts  long  and  lasciniate;  cones  ovate,  3  to  5 
inches  long,' the  scales  few,  large,  the  apophysis  prom- 
inently elevated,  but  not  recurved,  the  umbo  quad- 
rangular, armed  with  a  stout,  deltoid  spreading 
prickle.  Abundant  on  the  Apache-infested,  Chirri- 


- 

<4^ 

^ 

4J^S 


CONE-BEARERS.  37 

cahua  Mountains  of  southeastern  Arizona.     Discov- 
ered 1881  and  1892. 

(A  wide  extension  of  characters  given  to  the  cones 
of  the  original  P.  latifolia,  may  make  that  species 
include  this  Apache  pine,  but  probably  further  inves- 
tigation will  determine  that  both  forms  are  but  vari- 
eties of  the  polymorphous  Pinus  ponderosa.) 


Section  Two  -LATERALES. 

LATERAL-CONED  PINES. 

Cones  arising  laterally,  i.  e.,  along  the  bearing 
stems,  usually  at  some  distance  from  the  apex;  mostly 
not  falling  at  maturity,  but  persisting,  and  either  be- 
coming inclosed  by  the  later  layers  of  wood,  or  the 
peduncle  is  stretched  and  at  length  broken  by  the 
enlargement  of  the  tree,  while  the  cone  is  often  car- 
ried outward  confined  in  the  bark,  leaving  a  channel 
behind  it  to  the  heart  of  the  tree;  hence  the  trees 
make  defective,  pin-hole  lumber.  Leaves  large  and 
long,  6  to  16  inches.  Male  flowers  numerous,  forming 
ruffles  about  the  branchlets  at  some  distance  from  the 
terminal  bud,  corresponding  in  position  to  that  of  the 
cones. 

Croup  I.    Heavy-Coned  Pines. 

Graves. 
Cones  of  the  heaviest,  largest,  and  hardest  descrip- 


3&  WEST-AMERICAN 

tion,  on  long,  stout,  spreading  peduncles,  usually 
opening  at  maturity,  often  remaining  until  forced  off 
by  the  enlargement  of  the  tree.  Scales  of  the  cone 
very  large  and  thick,  especially  on  the  outer  side  at 
the  base,  usually  terminating  in  long,  stout,  curved 
spines  or  hooks;  seeds  very  large,  black,  thick 
shelled.  Leaves  in  3's  or  5's,  very  large  and  long,  8 
to  16  inches.  Picturesque  trees,  remarkable  for  their 
usually  divided  trunk  or  very  long  limbs,  and  for 
their  heavy,  spine-bearing  cones. 
Three  species  in  California: — 

No.  19 — TOfrey  Pine       •  P-  Torreydna,  Parry. 

Small  trees  not  to  exceed  a  few  hundred  in  all ; 
buffeted,  often  prostrated  by  the  ocean  winds  at  Del 
Mar,  San  Diego  County,  with  a  few  on  Santa  Rosa 
Island.  Leaves  in  5's,  very  large  and  long,  8  to  12 
inches.  Cones  (often  sub-terminal)  are  mahogany 
brown,  broadly  ovate,  4  to  6  inches  long,  weighing  1 
to  2  pounds,  and  armed  with  short,  stout  spines;  cones 
remaining  on  the  tree  for  four  years;  seeds  very  large, 
like  No.  21.  (Often  called  Lone  Pine.)  This  is  one 
of  the  four  storm-beaten  beach  pines  of  the  western 
coast. 
No.  20— Big-Cone  Pine  P-  Coutteri,  Don. 

Trees  of  medium  size,  with  dark  green,  abundant, 
three-leaved  foliage,  composed  of  very  large  and  long 
leaves,  10  to  16  inches  long.  Cones  elongated,  ellip- 


CON  P.-  BRA  KERS.  39 

tical,  of  matchless  size  and  weight,  15  to  20  inches 
long,  and  often  weighing  5  to  8  pounds,  the  scales  ter- 
minating in  very  large  spines  or  hooks.  The  outer 
spines  are  often  2  to  4  inches  long,  and  curved  like  a 
nail-grab.  Trees  of  limited  range  in  the  Southern 
Coast  Ranges  and  San  Bernardino  Mountains. 

This  tree,  remarkable  in  many  characters,  is  dis- 
tinguished above  all  pines  for  bearing  the  heaviest 
cones  known;  also  that  these  cones  are  armed  with 
the  largest  of  spines. 

No.  21— Cray-Leaf  Pine     -     •    P.Sabiniana,~Dougl. 

Usually  small,  round-headed  trees  of  the  hot,  slop- 
ing foothills  from  Redding  southward  on  both  the 
Coast  and  Sierra  Mountains,  to  the  Tehachapi 
Range  and  reported  from  San  Diego  County.  Trees 
with  divided  trunks  and  scant  foliage  of  a  striking 
glaucous  or  grayish  color,  all  but  the  leaves  of  the 
season  drooping  downward,  or  early  falling  away. 
Cones  dark  brown,  broadly  ovate,  weighing  2  to  5 
pounds,  armed  with  stout,  short  hooks;  seeds  very 
large,  one-half  to  three-fourths  inch  long,  with  a 
thick,  narrow  wing,  making  the  seed  look  like  a 
large  black  pearl  in  a  broad  amber  setting.  Leaves 
in  3's.  Quite  a  variable  species,  a  form  on  Mount 
Diablo  resembling  the  preceding. 

It  has  been  noticed  that  this  tree  in  its  habitat 


40  WEST- A  MEXICAN 

indicates  the  exact  range  of  best  fruit  lands  in  cen- 
tral and  northern  California. 

The  large  seeds  of  this  pine  were  formerly  used  for 
food  by  coast  tribes  of  Indians,  a  practice  now  entirely 
discontinued,  since  the  aborigine  prefers  the  white  man's 
flour;  hence  *  'Digger  Pine"  is  properly  disused.  The 
permanence  and  prevalence  of  the  striking  whiteness  of 
these  trees,  causing  them  to  resemble  masses  of  fog  on  the 
plains,  or  bands  of  clouds  in  the  mountain  canons  of 
California,  fully  justify  Gray-Leaf  Pine  for  this  beautiful, 
white-foliaged  tree. 


Croup  2.    Closed-Cone  Pines. 

Serotince. 

Cones  in  whorls  or  circles  about  the  tree  and 
limbs,  usually  quite  persistent,  strongly  declined, 
oblique  and  gibbons,  with  tubercled  scales,  tardily 
opening,  usually  remaining  long-closed,  holding 
the  seed,  which  is,  nevertheless,  preserved  in  good 
germinating  order  for  many  years — 30  or  more. 
Small  trees  mostly  crowded  into  dense  groves,  hence 
tall  and  slender;  maturing  fruit  when  quite  young. 
Leaves  in  3's  or  2's.  Four  Species: — 

No.  22— Monterey   Pine  P.  radiata,  Dou.  1837. 

P.  insignis,  Loudon,  1844. 

This  is  one  of  the  four  sea-loving  and  sea-nurtured 
pines  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  from  Pescadero,  near  San 
Francisco,  southward  to  Monterey  and  San  Simeon 


o 
o 

jp 
i 


CONE-BEARERS.  41 

Bays,  particularly  abundant  on  Point  Pinos,  on  which 
the  city  of  Pacific  Grove  has  arisen.  Trees  of  gen- 
eral spire-shape,  with  limbs  retained  if  removed  from 
the  sea,  but  gnarled  and  brow-beaten  if  near  the 
beach.  Largest  trees  80  to  100  feet  high,  with  black 
bark,  very  hard,  and  2  to  3  inches  thick.  Foliage 
bright  green,  leaves  in  3's,  4  to  6  inches  long;  cones 
chestnut-brown,  widely  variable,  obliquely  oval  or 
longer,  3  to  7  inches  long,  2  to  4  inches  thick  at  base, 
scales  on  the  outer  side,  especially  at  the  base  in  the 
larger  form,  swelled  out  into  nearly  hemispherical 
tubercles  or  knobs  one-quarter  to  one-half  inch  high, 
and  twice  as  broad,  becoming  devoid  of  prickles. 

Largely  cultivated  for  its  abundant  foliage,  great  endur- 
ance, and  its  rapid-growing  character — like  all  the  sea- 
nurtured  species,  the  annual  layers  of  wood  J  to  an  inch 
thick  being  not  uncommon.  The  largest  form  of  this 
species  is  the  proper  Knob-Cone  Pine,  and  not  the  next 
species  (P.  attenuata),  with  its  narrow,  long  cone,  and 
conically  developed  scales.  The  Monterey  Pine  is  re- 
markable as  the  earliest  discovered  pine  of  the  west,  the 
one  described  under  the  name  of  Pinus  Calif orniana,  by 
the  botanist  of  the  Perouse  expedition,  1787,  it  having 
been  collected  "At  Monte  del  Rey,  near  the  sea." 
VARIETIES  OF  MONTEREY  PINE. 

SMALL-CONED  MONTEREY  PINE.      Var.    (a)   tuberculata, 
Lemmon.* 

Pinus  tuberculata,  Don.  1837. 

Trees  mingled  with  the  large-coned  form,  orchoos- 
*  New  variety,  not  before  published. 


42  WES  T-AMER1 CA  N 

ing  more  northern  localities.  Cones  smaller,  3  to  4 
inches  long,  with  few,  small  tubercled  scales  on  the 
outer  side,  mostly  at  the  base.  Otherwise  not  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  other  form  which  was  published 
by  the  same  author  in  Transactions  Linncean  Society, 
just  before  this  on  the  same  page,  hence  the  name  for 
the  other  form  radiata  holds  for  the  species,  and 
tuberculata  may  be  retained  for  this  variety  of  it. 

TWO-LEA.VED  INSULAR  PINE.     Var.  (6)  binata,  Engelm. 

Small,  scrubby  trees   with   leaves  mostly  in  pairs, 

the  cones  very  small,"  about  3  inches  long  and  nearly 

devoid  of  tubercles.     A  few  trees  on  the  islands  of 

Santa  Cruz  and  Guadeloupe. 

No.  23— NarrOW-Cone  Pine  •  P-  attenuata,  Lemmon. 
P.  tuberculata,  of  Gordon,  1849  (a  previously  used,  and, 
therefore,  untenable  name  for  this  species.) 

Usually  small,  early- bearing,  slender  trees  on  sunny 
slopes  of  the  Cascade  Range  to  the  Northern  Sierra 
and  southward,  rarely  on  the  Coast  Ranges,  to  the 
Santa  Cruz  and  Sari  Bernardino  Mountains.  Cones 
in  circles,  strongly  declined,  narrow  and  pointed,  3  to 
7  inches  long,  remaining  OIL  the  trees  and  unopened 
for  an  indefinite  number  of  years.  The  outer  scales 
with  conical,  quadrangular  tubercles,  terminated  by 
a  very  short,  deltoid,  firm  prickle.  Leaves  in  3's,  3 
to  6  inches  long. 

Often  called  "  Knob-cone   Pine,"  but  the  largest 


CONE-BEARERS.  43 

form  of  the  preceding  species  better  deserves  that 
name  on  account  of  its  half-inch,  hemispherical 
tubercles.  First  detected  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Moun- 
tains by  Hartweg,  1846. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  tree  is  the  tapering  character  of 
its  cones  at  base,  whereby  they  oppose  so  little  resistance 
to  the  growing  trunk  that  the  annual  layers,  instead  of 
crowding  off  the  cones  (as  happens  to  the  broad-based 
cones  of  other  species  in  this  group)  often  envelop  them 
completely.  They  are  found  in  large  trunks  still-unopened 
and  preserving  good  seed.  It  emphasizes  the  importance 
of  this  fact  to  state  that  the  seeds  of  deciduous-coned 
pines  will  not  germinate  after  two  years'  keeping. 
No.  24—  Prickle-Cone  Pine  P-  muricata,  Don. 

Small,  often  slender,  trees,  usually  in  swampy 
places,  or  on  the  wind-beaten  bluffs  along  a  limited 
portion  of  the  Coast  Kange  from  Mendocino  to 
Lower  California,  mostly  northward  from4  San  Fran- 
cisco. Rapid-growing  trees.  Bark  on  protected 
trees,  a  little  back  from  the  sea,  very  hard  and  thick, 
4  to  6  inches.  Cones  in  whorls  or  circles,  ovate,  2 
to  3  inches  long,  with  small  tubercles  and  long,  sharp, 
persistent  prickles.  The  cones  have  been  known  to 
remain  unopened  for  20  to  30  years,  then  to  release 
good  seeds.  Leaves  in  pairs,  usually  long,  3  to  6 
inches.  This  is  one  of  the  four  storm-beaten  Coast 
pines  of  our  western  slope. 

ANTHONY'S  PINE.     Var.  Anthonyi,  Lernmon. 

Small  trees  with  short  leaves  and  cones  about  2 


44  WEST-AMERICAN 

inches  long.  Near  San  Quentin,  Peninsula  of  Cali- 
fornia. Collected  by  A.  W.  Anthony,  1889. 
No.  25 — Chihuahua  Pin©  -  P*  Ckihuahuana^ugelm. 
Medium-sized  trees,  often  with  crooked  trunks; 
leaves  in  3's.  slender,  2^  to  4  inches  long,  glaucous 
above,  the  sheath  of  long,  shining,  loose,  deciduous 
bracts,  cones  requiring  three  years  to  mature,  top- 
shaped,  1"J  to  2  inches  long,  knobs  of  scales  small, 
bearing  small,  recurved,  soon-falling  prickles.  Pecul- 
iar for  its  three-year  cones  (the  only  case  in  America) 
and  among  the  Laterales,  for  its  deciduous  leaf- 
sheaths..  Mountains  of  Southern  Arizona  and  North- 
ern Mexico. 


YEARLING  CONES  OF  THE  PINES. 

During  the  first  of  the  two  seasons  required  to  mature 
a  pine  cone,  it  enlarges  but  little,  although  the  prickles 
(if  the  cones  are  to  be  armed)  are  largely  developed,  and 
the  cones  may  have  a  different  color  than  that  they  assume 
during  the  second  season.  Pine  cones  are  either  almost 
stemless,  or  with  stems  of  different  length,  varying  with 
the  species,  from  J  to  4  inches. 

Most  of  the  yearlings  are  globular.  Such  are  the  True 
Nut  Pines,  with  their  light  yellow  little  balls  about  f 
inch  thick,  set  close  on  the  branchlet  and  devoid  of 
prickles.  The  Thimble-Cone  Pines  have  smaller  yearlings, 
about  J  inch  in  diameter,  rose-red  and  bristling  with 
long,  slim  prickles.  The  Prickle-Cone  Pine  has  dark-red 


No.  1,    Characters  of  the  whorled,  persistent. 
Lateral-coned  Pines. 


oup  of 


CONE-BEARERS.  43 

yearlings  about  \  inch  in  diameter,  including  the  already 
long,  sharp  prickles.  The  Torrey  Pine  shows  a  dark 
tawny  ball,  about  an  inch  in  diameter,  raised  out  on*a 
stem  about  f  inch  long.  The  Gray-Leaf  Pine  exhibits  a 
dark  yellow  globe,  slightly  pointed,  about  1J  inches  in 
diameter,  heavily  mailed  with  broad,  sharp-pointed 
scales,  and  raised  out  on  a  long,  stout  stem,  2  to  3  inches 
long,  soon  curving  downwards. 

All  the  other  species  have  cones  which  are  more  or 
less  elongated  from  the  start.  Yearlings  of  the  Broken- 
Cone  Pines  are  at  first  tawny  gray  or  purplish,  oblong, 
about  f  inch,  becoming  ovate  the  second  season.  Year- 
lings of  Big-Cone  are  oblong,  1  to  \\  inches  long,  raised 
on  stont  stems  2  to  3  inches  long,  and  formidably  armed 
in  youth  with  stout,  radiating  spines.  Cones  of  Monte- 
rey and  Narrow-Cone  Pine  are  at  first  oblong  and  tawny 
gray,  on  stems  about  \  inch  long,  becoming  attenuated 
to  a  point  at  apex  during  the  next  season.  Yearlings  of 
the  Long-Cone  group  and  of  Rocky  Mountain  White 
Pine  are  long-oblong  from  the  start,  becoming  greatly 
elongated  during  the  second  season,  when  they  are  bent 
downward  on  their  flexible  steins  2  to  4  inches  long. 
Yearling  Plume-Pines  are  purple,  oblong,  f  inch  long, 
and  retain  their  form  next  season,  on  stems  \  inch  long. 
Cones  of  the  alpine  White-Bark  Pine  arise  out  of  the 
dense  tufts  of  leaves  about  half  an  inch,  and  are  fairly 
glittering  with  marine-blue  scales. 


46  WEST-AMERICAN 

RECAPITULATION     OF     THE    GROUPS 
OF    PINES. 


Genus  PINUS— True  Pines. 

Sub-Genus  Strobus,  -Soft  Wood  or 
White  Pines. 

Group  1.     Long-Cone  Lumber  Pines    .    .    Elongates 
"       2.     Alpine  White  Pines      .....  Alpince 

Sub-Genus  Pinaster,  Hard-Wood 
Pines. 

Section  1.    Sub-terminal-coned  Pines    .    .  Terminates 

Sub-Sec.  1.  Short-Leaved  Pines   .  .  Brachypliyllyz 

Group  1.    True  Nut  Pines      Edules 

"      2.  Plume-Branched  Pines    .    .    Plumosce 

"      3.  Thimble-Cone  Pines   .    .    .  Parviconce 

Sub-Sec.  2.  Broken-ConeLumberPines  Fracticonm 

Group  1.  Common  Lumber  Pines     .    Communes 

"      2.  Little-Known  Pines    ....  Novitates 

Section  2.    Lateral-Coned  Pines      ....   Laterales 

Group  1.    Heavy-Coned  Pines    .    .    .    .    Graves 

"      2.    Closed-Cone  Pines  .  Serotince 


CONE-BEARERS.  47 

Genus  CEDRUS-^ 

THE  TRUE  CEDARS. 

Trees  with  cones  (maturing  in  two  years),  erect, 
large,  depressed  at  the  ends ;  the  leaves  short,  slender, 
mostly  tufted  and  persistent  several  years  from  the 
ends  of  undeveloped  branchlets  (spurs). 

Three  Species.  Natives  of  the  mountains  of  western 
and  central  Asia  and  northern  Africa.  Successfully 
grown  in  the  Pacific  slope  states,  and  placed  here  to 
complete  the  classification. 


Class  B.— DECIDUyE. 

DECIDUOUS-LEAVED  FASCICULARS. 

Trees  with  small,  slender  leaves,  mostly  tufted  on 
the  ends^  of  short  branchlets,  peculiar  for  being 
promptly  deciduous;  cones  (maturing  in  one  season) 
small,  pendent  from  the  sides  of  branches  of  the 
previous  season's  growth. 

Two  Genera — the  Larches: — 


48  WEST-AMERICAN 

Second  Genus,  LARIX— Link. 

TRUE  LARCH  OR  TAMARACK. 

Trees  with  cones  pendent  on  branches  of  the  pre- 
vious season's   growth;   leaves   promptly  deciduous. 
Two  species  in  Northwest  America: — 

No.  1— Woolly  Larch  L.  LyallU,  Parlatore. 

Small  alpine  trees  of  the  Cascade  and  Galton 
Ranges,  and  eastward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  ele- 
vations of  6,000  to  7,000  feet.  Branchlets  and  cones 
clothed  with  whitish  hairs;  the  cones  promptly  decid- 
uous— a  rare  feature  of  Larch  ^cones. 

No.  2— Western   Larch  L.  occidental^,  Nuttall. 

Large,  usually  tall  trees  of  the  Northwest,  on  high 
or  dry  situations;  peculiar  for  their  thick  bark,  like 
a  Yellow  Pine,  and  cones  bristly  with  long,  exserted 
bracts. 

Scattered  through  the  Selkirk  and  Gold  Ranges, 
thence  southward  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Cas- 
cade Range  to  Mt.  Hood;  also  in  the  Blue  Mountains 
and  on  the  cross  ranges  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  excessively  thick  and  spongy  bark  of  this  tree 
resists  the  first  kindling  of  forest  fires,  hence  the  tree 
is  often  preserved  in  the  midst  of  devastation. 


CONE-BEARERS.  49 

PSEUDOLARIX — Gordon,  the  False  Larch,  is  a  genus  of 
one  species,  native  of  Northern  China,  with  cone-scales 
extended  at  the  points  and  promptly  deciduous  from  the 
cone-axis — in  this  respect  totally  unlike  true  Larches. 


Sub-Tribe  Two  -SOLITARI/E 

THE  SOLITARY-LEAVED  PITCH- 
TREES. 

Trees  with  all  the  leaves  solitary,  not  in  fascicles 
nor  tufted,  and  all  very  short.  Cones  maturing  in  a 
single  season. 

Separated  by  the  direction  of  the  cones  into  two 
classes: — 


Class  A.-PENDENTES. 
PENDENT-FRUITED  SOLITARES. 

Trees  with  fruit  pendent  from  or  near  the  end  of 
the  branchlets.  The  leaves  of  the  two  first  genera 
promptly  deciduous  from  the  branchlet  when  drying. 


WEST-AMERICAN 


Male  flowers,  oblong,  J  to  1  inch  long.     Three  closely 
related  genera,  often  considered  as  one  polymorphous 
genus,  but  clearly.  distinct.     The  Spruces. 
Two  sections:  — 


Sec.  I.    Naked-Coned  Pendants 


Cones  terminal,  the  bracts  short,  concealed  at  ma- 
turity by  the  cone-scales.  Male  flowers  terminal,  like 
the  cones.  Two  genera:  — 


Third  Genus,  PICEA-Link 

THE  TRUE  SPRUCES. 

The  branchlets  of  the  True  Spruce  are  rough  from 
the  presence  of  prominent  leaf-bases  that  become 
hardened  and  persistent;  the  cones  are  terminal  on  leafy 
branchlets;  the  bracts  are  smaller  than  the  scales;  the 
leaves  are  sessile  (i.  e.,  not  narrowed  into  stalks  at 
base),  keeled  on  both  upper  and  lower  sides,  and  with 
two  lateral  resin  ducts  from  end  to  end;  the  seeds  are 
without  resin  vesicles.  Male  flowers  solitary,  and 


CO  NR  -BE  A  RERS.  51 

axillary  or  terminal.     Sixteen  species,  five  in  North- 
west America. 
Two  groups: — 

Croup  I.    Interior  Species. 

No.  1— White  Spruce  P-  laxa,  .-argent. 

Trees  of  far  Northern  regions,  including  the  valley 
of  Yukon  River,  with  glaucous  or  white  leaves. 

No.  2  —  Blue  Spruce        -         -       P*  pungens,  Eogelm. 

Rocky  Mountains  and  westward  to  Wyoming, 
along  streams.  Remarkable  for  its  sharp  and  very 
glaucous  leaves. 

NO.  3— Engelmann's  Spruce 

P.  JBngelmannit  Engelm. 

Rocky  Mountains  and  westward  to  the  Northwest 
regions.  Branchlets  short  and  usually  slender;  cones 
elliptical,  2  to  21f  inches  long.  Abundant  on  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  extending  to  the  Cascade  Range, 
but  not  reaching  California.  Appearing  again  in 
Northern  Arizona. 

ARIZONA  SPRUCE.     Var.  Franciscana.    n.  var.  * 

More  robust  but  not  as  lofty  trees,  with  long-retained 
lower  limbs,  and  stout,  short  branchlets,  J  of  an  inch 
thick,  and  larger  cones,  scales,  seeds,  etc. 


*  New  variety,  not  before  published. 


$2  WEST-AMERICAN 

At  elevations  of  9,000  to  11,000  feet  on  the  slope 
of  the  San  Francisco  Mountains,  Northern  Arizona. 

Group  2.   North-Coast  Species. 

NO.  4  — T  id  eland  Spruce  •  P>  Sitchensis,  Carriere. 
Abundant  in  the  Northwest,  and  reaching  the  coast 
of  California.  Large  trees,  with  slender  branchlets 
and  cylindrical  cones,  \\  to  2  inches  long.  Trees 
often  attaining  a  great  size,  150  feet  high  and  15  to 
20  feet  in  diameter.  A  valuable  timber  tree,  and 
very  beautiful  as  a  lawn  ornament. 

No.  5 — Weeping  Spruce-^^^grawza,  S.Watsoo. 

A  recent  discovery,  stranded  near  the  summits  of 
the  Siskiyou  Mountains,  with  a  few  on  the  near 
mountains  northward.  Branchlets  very  long,  slender 
and  pendent,  8  feet  or  more;  cones  tapering  to 
each  end,  and  2  to  3  inches  long. 

Trees  of  great  beauty  and  destined  to  be  much 
used  for  decoration. 


u 

li 

CO .  « 


JS  S 

1  U 

0>  CL 

H 


Pk 

"2 


CONE-BEARERS,  53  • 

FOUrth  CenUS,    TSUCA— Oarriere. 

THE  HEMLOCK-SPRUCES. 

The  branchlets  of  the  Hemlock-Spruce  are  rough 
like  the  True  Spruce;  the  cones  are  also  terminal, 
very  small;  the  bracts  are  similar;  but  the  leaves  are 
petioled  (i.  e.,  narrowed  at  base  into  a  foot-stalk), 
and  they  each  have  a  single  resin-duct  on  the  back; 
the  seeds  are  provided  with  resin  vesicles  on  the  up- 
per surface — in  this  respect  resembling  the  Fir.  Male 
flowers  at  the  end  or  distributed  along  the  short 
branchlets.  Six  species,  2  in  Northwest  America: — 

No.  1 — Western  HemlOCk  -  ?T.  Mertcnsiana,  Carri^re. 
Picturesque  trees  of  the  Northwest,  reaching 
Northern  California.  Cones  decorating  the  short 
branchlets,  ovate,  \  inch  long.  Branches  long, 
drooping,  with  flattened,  fan-like  branchlets  and 
short,  linear,  light  green  leaves,  about  \  inch  long, 
mostly  in  two  ranks. 

No.  2— Alpine  HemlOCk     -    T.  Pattoniaiw,  Engelm. 

Alpine  or  subalpiue  trees  of  the  Sierra,  Cascade 
and  Rocky  Mountains,  often  attaining  a  large  size,  3 
to  6  feet  in  diameter,  and  retaining  their  limbs — these, 
especially  the  upper  ones,  gracefully  drooping  and 
profusely  decorated  wTith  the  large,  purple,  pendent 
cones,  1J  to  3  inches  long. 


54  WEST-AMERICAN 

This  lovely  Hemlock  is  peculiarly  characterized  by  its 
alpine  habitat,  its  cones  larger  than  any  other  Hemlock- 
Spruce,  2  to  3  inches  long,  oblong-cylindrical;  scales 
numerous,  nearly  of  the  same  size,  usually  reflexed  at 
maturity,  broader  than  long,  4  to  8  lines  wide, 
striate,  with  thin,  wavy,  rounded  border;  bracts  small, 
spatulate,  3  to  4  lines  long;  seeds  angular,  with 
resin  vesicles;  wings  elliptical,  3  to  6  lines  long; 
leaves  linear,  about  J  inch  long,  dark  green,  scattered,  or 
tufted  at  the  ends  of  short  brauchlets,  quadrangular, 
keeled  above  and  below;  resin  duct  solitary  and  large. 
Pollen  grains  bilobed,  unlike  the  other  Tsugas. 

This  tree  has  so  many  peculiar  characters  that  the  au- 
thor of  this  volume  published  it  (3d 'Rep.  Cal.  Board  For- 
estry, p.  126)  as  the  type  of  a  distinct  genus— Hesperopeuce. 

HOOKER'S  HEMLOCK— Var.  Hookeriana.     n.  var.* 
A bies  Hookeriana — Murray. 

Smaller,  usually  tall,  slender,  pinnacle-shaped  trees, 
with  short,  drooping  branches,  and  smaller  cones,  1  \ 
to  two  inches  long,  the  scales  at  maturity  less  spread- 
ing and  less  striated.  Alpine  regions  of  the  Cascade 
Range,  and  eastward  along  the  cross  ranges  to  the 
Selkirk  and  Gold  Ranges,  and'  the  Northern  Rocky 
Mountains. 


*  New  variety,  not  before  published. 


CONE-BEARERS.  55 

Sec.  2.   Feather-Coned  Pendants. 

JExsertce. 

Cones  sub-terminal,  arising  just  below  the  leading 
buds,  the  three-parted,  feather-like  bracts  greatly  de- 
veloped and  protruding  from  between  the  cone-scales. 
The  buds  of  both  kinds,  leaf  and  flowering,  are  re- 
markably large,  with  few  large,  brown,  shining  scales, 
Male  flowers  sub-terminal  from  the  axils  of  last  year's 
leaves. 

One  Genus,  peculiar  to  \Yestern  America: — 


Fifth  Genus,  PSEUDOTSUCA. 

Carriere. 
THE  FALSE  HEMLOCK  SPRUCES 

The  branchlets  of  the  False  Hemlock-Spruce  are 
smooth,  the  flat  leaf-scars  transversely  oval,  the  leaves 
petioled  (i.  e.,  narrowed  at  base),  the  bracts  of  the 
cones  are  three-parted  and  much  longer  than  the 
scales  (L  e.,  they  are  exserted  from  between  the  scales 
of  the  cone,  like  feathers),  and  the  seeds  are  devoid 
of  resin  vesicles.  Male  flowers  large,  distributed 
along  the  branchlets  in  last  year's  leaf-axils.  The 
leaf  and  flower  buds  are  remarkably  large. 


jd  WEST-AMERICAN 

In  a  few  respects  this  last  genus  approaches  the 
Firs;  they  have  similar  smooth  branchlets  and  ex- 
serted  bracts,  thus  justifying  their  arrangement  next 
to  the  great  family  of  Firs.  Two  species: — 

No.  1 — DOUglaS  Spruce       •      P-  taxifolia,  Britton. 

Pinus  Taxifolia,  Lambert,  1803. 
Pseudotsuga  Douglasii,  Carriere,  1855. 

Large  and  valuable  lumber  trees  of  the  North- 
west; forming  the  larger  part  of  the  great  forests 
about  Puget  Sound  and  southward.  Cones  narrow, 
2  to  3J  inches  long,  the  feather-like  bracts  protruding 
J  to  f  of  an  inch.  Trees  near  the  coast  northward, 
and  crowded  into  groves  remain  slender,  and  become 
very  tall,  300  to  400  feet  high,  and  are  largely  used 
for  piles  and  for  ship  masts  and  other  timbers.  "  In 
other  situations,  especially  interior  and  southward, 
they  become  large-bodied  trees,  10  to  12  feet  in  di- 
ameter, with  thick,  hard,  black  bark,  divided  by  deep 
furrows  into  large,  longitudinal  sections. 

PECULIARITIES  OF   THE    DOUGLAS    SPRUCE. 

The  Douglas  Spruce  is  the  most  extensive  of  the  special 
products  of  the  favoring  conditions  of  the  Northwest, 
being  a  component  part  of,  and  precisely  co-extensive 
with,  this  great  forest  development  in  all  its  extent  from 
the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from 
British  Columbia  to  Mexico.  No  other  tree  is  more  util- 


p. 


CONE-BEARERS.  57 

ized  in  the  West,  where  cheap,  strong,  durable  lumber  is 
desired.  This  is  one  of  the  first  and  most  valuable  dis- 
coveries of  David  Douglas,  on  the  Columbia  River,  1825, 
and  it  was  early  named  for  him  as  Finns  Douglasii,  subse- 
quently changed  to  Abies  Douglasii,  and  now,  although 
both  the  generic  and  specific  name  have  suffered  another 
change,  Douglas'  name  is  properly  retained  for  the  En- 
glish name  of  this  noble  tree.  The  Douglas  Spruce  has 
fared  badly  in  the  matter  of  an  English  name  until  re- 
cently, being  in  some  localities  called  "  Yellow  Fir,"  if 
the  lumber  happens  to  have  that  tint,  or  "Red  Fir  "  when 
of  a  darker  color;  but,  worse  than  that,  some  lumber 
dealers  have  called  it  "  Oregon  Pine." 

CORK-BARK  DOUGLAS  SPRUCE.   Var.  suberosa,  Lemmon. 

Small  trees  with  whitened,  thick,  corky  bark,  thin 
foliage,  and  small,  ovate  cones,  1  to  2  inches  long.  On 
mountains  of  Northern  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  at 
elevations  of  about  9,000  feet.  1892. 

N"o.  2 — Big-Cone  Spruce  -  £*•  macrocarpa,  Lemmon. 
P.  Douglasii,  Carr.     Var.  macrocarpa,  Engelmann. 

Trees  less  symmetrical,  longer-limbed,  and  never 
attaining  the  size  of  the  other  species;  cones  remarka- 
bly large,  5  to  7  inches  long,  2  to  3  inches  thick  (when 
opened),  the  large  scales  more  convex  and  firmer  than 
the  other  species,  and  having  twice  as  large  seeds, 
with  J-inch  wings.  Quite  local  on  the  San  Ber- 
"  nardino  and  neighboring  mountains  of  Southern  Cal- 
ifornia. 


S$  WEST-AMERICAN 


Class  B     ERECTES 

/ 

ERECT  FRUITED  SOLITARES. 

True   Firs   and   Their  One   Ally. 

Noble  trees  with  branches  mostly  in  horizontal 
whorls  or  circles;  cones  mostly  erect  upon  the  upper- 
most limbs,  the  scales  deciduous. 

Two  genera,  Abies  and  Keteleeria,  the  latter  a 
curious  genus  of  three  species,  local  in  China,  the 
other  (Abies)  a  large  genus  widely  distributed. 


Sixth  Genus,  ABIES 

THE  TRUE  FIRS. 


Mostly  magnificent  trees  with  branches  arising  in 
symmetrical,  horizontal  whorls  and  forming  fan-like 
strata  of  dense  foliage;  the  leaves  very  short,  mostly 
two-ranked  on  young  trees  and  lower  branches,  but 
erect  and  crowded  along  the  upper  side  of  upper 
branches.  Cones  erect,  lateral,  sessile,  nearly  cylin- 
drical, axillary  from  the  upper  side  of  mostly  the 


CONE-BEARERS  39 

upper  limbs;  the  scales  deciduous,  leaving  the  axis  of 
the  cone  standing  on  the  branchlet. 

Male  flowers  from  the  axils  of  last  year's  leaves, 
oblong,  becoming  pendent,  profusely  decorating  the 
under  border  of  the  fern-like  branchlets. 

The  wood  of  the  firs,  while  not  so  valuable,  gener- 
ally, as  the  Yellow  and  White  Pines,  is  quite  strong, 
and  is  used  for  bridge  timbers,  some  of  the  species 
for  piling,  for  interior  finish,  and  for  cooperage. 
Being  odorless  it  is  well  adapted  for  butter  and  fruit 
boxes,  etc.  •  - 

The  Firs  of  Northwest" America  may  be  considered 
in  two  groups — Large-cone  and  Small-cone  Firs. 

ENGLISH  NAMES  FOR  THE  GROUPS  AND  SPECIES. 

Before  classifying  and  describing  our  western  species, 
the  great  difficulty  of  selecting  the  best,  i.  e.,  the  correct 
and  shortest  English  names  for  them,  may  be  discussed. 

The  leaves  of  many  species  of  Fir,  both  in  the  Old  and 
New  World,  are  striped  beneath  with  a  double  set  of 
long  lines  of  white  stomata  or  breathing  pores,  giving 
the  foliage  a  glistening  sheen  of  silver,  and  winning  for 
such  firs  the  name  from  antiquity  of  "Silver  Firs."  Each 
of  our  two  groups— Large-cone  and  Small-cone — has  two 
Silver  Firs  in  it.  Abies  magnified  and  its  marked  vari(  ty 
or  sub-species,  Shastensis,  are  in  the  Large-cone  group; 
while  A  concolor,  and  its  marked  variety,  Lowiana,  are 
with  the  Small-cones. 

The  two  first  mentioned  have  very  striking,  madder- 
red  bark  (detected  when  cut  or  broken),  winning  for  them 


60  WEST-AMERICAN 

the  additional  name  of  "Red  Firs."  The  other  two 
forms  named,  together  with  two  other  northern  species, 
have,  usually,  whitish  bark  outside;  these  are  the  so- 
called  "White  Firs." 

Now  these  three  terms,  "Silver,"  "Red,"and  "White," 
when  applied  to  a  group  of  firs,  are  not,  each,  associated 
with  a  set  of  other  distinctive  characters — such  as  sepa- 
rate the  Large-cone  from  the  Small-cone  group.  Eacli 
of  them,  in  fact,  crosses  the  line  both  sides  and  invades 
other  groups  quite  arbitrarily  and  without  any  support; 
hence,  "Silver,"  "Red,"  and  "White,"  taken  alone,  do 
not  discriminate  between  groups  and  are  useless  terms 
for  classification. 

In  order  to  distinguish  a  species  absolutely,  we  may 
use  the  translated  botanical  names,  which  are  the  better 
ones  in  four  instances — Grand,  Lovely,  Noble,  and  Mag- 
nificent— while  the  remainder  may  receive  the  double 
names,  Sub-Alpine,  Shasta  Red,  California  White,  Col- 
orado White,  and  Bristle-cone  Fir. 

Croup  I-     Large-Cone  Firs. 

Meg  a  car  pee. 

Species  with  bark  reddish  within  (though  it  may 
be  white' or  black  outside);  cones  mostly  large,  4  to 
8  inches  long;  leaves  short,  not  twisted  at  base.  Mnle 
flowers  about  \  inch  long,  dark  red.  Four  species: — 

No.  1 — Sub-Alpine   Fir          •    A.  lasiocarpa,  Nuttall. 

Rare  on  high  peaks  of  the  Northwest.     Bark  thin 

and    milk-white  outside;  cone  small,  2   to  3  inches 


CONE-BEARERS.  61 

long,   scales   bearing   short,   brownish    hairs;  leaves 
small  and  very  short.     Male  flowers  red,  showy. 

No.  2 — Lovely  Fir  A.  ctmabilis,  Forbes.  , 

Rare  trees  on  peaks  near  the  Cascades  of  the 
Columbia,  and  northward  to  Fraser  River.  Bark 
gray,  thin,  1  to  2  inches;  cone  3  to  4  inches  long; 
cone  bracts  short,  concealed;  leaves  flat  and  crowded. 
Male  flowers  crimson,  and  conspicuous. 
No.  3— Noble  Fir  -  -  -  A-  nobilis,  Lindley. 
Rare,  often  very  large  trees  near  Mt.  Hood,  and 
in  a  few  other  northern  localities.  Bark  brown,  1  to 
2  inches  thick;  cones  4  to  6  inches  long,  the  bracts 
large,  long,  exserted  and  reflexed  like  feathers. 

Extensively  manufactured  in  Washington  and  Or- 
egon under  the  absurd  name  of  "Larch."  Highly 
prized  for  interior  finish,  furniture,  etc. 

No.  4— Magnificent    Fir  A.  magnified,,  Murray. 

Attains  the  largest  size  of  any  tree  of  the  genus; 
on  high  plateaus  and  mountains  of  California.  Cones 
largest  of  the  genus,  6  to  8  inches  long;  bracts  mostly 
concealed;  leaves  quadrangular,  whitish  beneath. 
Male  flowers  very  conspicuous.  Bark  very  thick, 
becoming  4  to  6  inches  on  largest  trees,  dark  red 
inside,  detected  best  when  cut  or  broken;  hence  often 
called  "Red  Fir,"  though  the  bark  outside  is  usually 
very  dark.  Also  called  "Silver  Fir,"  on  account  of 


62  WEST-AMERICAN 

its  whitened  leaves.  Valuable  timber  trees ;  wood 
durable  in  contact  with  the  soil,  hence  much  used  for 
bridge  timber,  etc. 

This  beautiful  "Queen  of  the  Sierra"  is  most  regular 
in  youth,  with  its  verticils  of  branches  maintained  in 
perfection  until  age,  if  favorably  situated,  and  becoming 
a  noble  tower  of  stratified  foliage  150  to  300  feet  high. 
The  leaves  are  so  short  and  close  wrapped,  the  branch- 
lets  so  numerous  and  regularly  placed  as  pinnae  along  the 
broad,  almost  contiguous  sprays,  that  the  light  of  day  is 
but  partially  admitted;  and  the.  visitor  to  a  Fir  forest, 
in  looking  upward,  gazes  through  veil  after  veil  of  airy, 
gauzy,  reticulated  sprays  that  give  an  impression  of 
beauty  and  grace  it  is  believed  that  transcends  any- 
thing elsewhere  seen  in  the  vegetable  world. 

SHASTA  FIR.     Var.  (a)  Shastensis,  Lemmon. 

This  variety  forms  a  large,  almost  exclusive  forest 
on  the  high  plateau  of  lava  thrown  out  by  Shasta  in 
former  times.  A  few  trees  are  scattered,  also,  over 
the  high  slopes  of  Mount  Eddy,  Scott,  Trinity  and 
Siskiyou  peaks,  at  elevations  of  6,000  to  8,000  feet. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  variety  of  Fir,  aside  from  its 
locality,  is  connected  mostly  with  the  fact  of  its  cone- 
bracts  becoming  long  and  protruded,  a  half  to  a  full  inch 
between  the  scales,  rendering  the  large  purple  cones, 
thus  decked  out  with  tasseled  fringes,  a  most  beautiful 
object.  Male  flowers  equally  showy,  as  they  fringe  the 
bearing  branches  with  large  crimson  pendants. 

The  trees  are  very  large  and  lofty,  though  not  so  im- 
mense and  high-headed  as  in  the  typical  southern  form, 


o* 


^onwh 


CONE-BEARERS.  63 

but  they  become,  on  the  southern  slopes  of  Shasta,  a  dark, 
gloomy  assemblage  of  massive  black  trunks,  colored  on 
the  north  side  from  base  to  the  limbs  with  bright  yellow 
lichen,  or  tree-moss,  the  lower  limbs  draped  here  atid 
there  with  long,  sweeping  festoons  of  black,  filmy  lichen, 
giving  a  funereal  aspect  to  the  whole  scene,  scarce  relieved 
by  the  twitter  of  a  red  squirrel,  the  long,  wailing  note  of 
a  woodpecker,  or  the  occasional  cry  of  a  bald  eagle. 

GOLDEN  FIR.     Var.  (b)  xanthocarpa,  Lemmon. 

Smaller,  more  symmetrical  trees  than  the  typ- 
ical, and  bearing  smaller  cones,  averaging  4  to  5 
inches  long,  half  as  thick  near  the  base,  tapering 
slightly  to  the  apex,  of  a  golden  color  until  matu- 
rity (suggesting  the  name  from  the  Greek  xanthos, 
yellow),  the  scales,  seeds,  and  seed- wings  proportion- 
ately smaller.  In  high,  sub-alpine  localities,  Mt. 
Shasta  to  Mt.  Webber  and  Mt.  Whitney. 

Croup  2.    Small-Cone  Firs 

Microcarpce. 

Cones  smaller,  2  to  4  inches  long;  bark  whitrsh 
within,  though  often  brown  or  even  darker  outside; 
leaves  longer,  mostly  flat,  and  twisted  one-half  round 
at  base.  Male  flowers  smaller,  yellow. 

Three  Species: — 

No.  5— Grand  Fir  ^-  grandis,  Lindley. 

Becoming    large   trees   of    the   Northwest,    very 


64  WEST-AMERICAN 

abundant  in  Washington  and  Oregon,  and  reaching 
California;  cones  narrow,  2  to  3  inches  long;  leaves 
dark  green  and  shining  above,  white-lined  below. 
Bark  mostly  thin,  finely  checked,  and  dingy-white 
outside,  often  quite  dark. 

No.  6-ColOradO  White  Fir  -  A.  concolor,  Lindley. 
Summits  of  the  watershed  of  the  Colorado  River, 
including  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Utah,  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  also  a  few  trees  in  Lower  California. 
Leaves  large,  whitened  both  above  and  below.  (One 
of  the  "Silver  Firs.")  Bark  usually  whitened  out- 
side. Cones  smaller. 

CALIFORNIA  WHITE  FIR.     Var.  Lowiana,  Lemmon. 

Pinus  Lowiana,  McNab. 

Becoming  large  trees,  common  in  the  California 
mountains  at  middle  altitudes.  Leaves  whitened 
below;  bark  very  thick,  deeply  furrowed  and  dark, 
often  nearly  black  outside. 

Manufactured  into  butter  boxes,  firkins,  etc.,  where 
a  scentless  wood  is  desirable. 

No.  7— Bristle-Cone    Fir          •    A.  venusta,  Sargent. 

Abies  bracteata,  Nuttall. 

Extremely  local,  stranded  high  up  in  the  Santa 
Lucia  Mountains  of  California.  Cone-bracts  with 
the  large  midribs  long,  exserted,  like  stiff  bristles,  1 
to  2  inches  long;  leaves  very  large  and  long.  Only 


CONE-BEARERS,  65 

a  few  trees,  tall  and  very  symmetrical,  in  Miller's  and 
neighboring  canons. 

SYMMETRY  OF  THE  FIRS. 

No  more  prim,  symmetrical,  absolutely  conventional 
trees  are  found  in  the  Conifer  family  than  the  Silver  Firs 
of  California.  Young  trees  of  the  same  age  are  generally 
of  the  same  size,  the  circles  or,  whorls  of  branches  are 
wide  at  the  base  and  diminish  regularly  to  the  conical 
apex,  each  whorl  of  branches  composed  of  several  mem- 
bers— usually  five — each  throws  off  pinnae,  right  and  left, 
annually,  these  repeating  the  process  again  and  again, 
-  the  whole  branch  simulates  the  compound  frond  of  a 
graceful  fern.  At  about  fifty  years  a  great  change  comes. 
Cones,  like  little  caskets,  appear,  erect,  in  a  small  circle 
upon  the  topmost  branches  of  the  previous  year.  Simul- 
taneously, the  lowest  whorl  of  branches  dies  and  falls 
away.  Life  and  death  are  f$fces.  Each  year  a  new 
whorl  is  added  at  top  and  withdrawn  at  base;  but  death 
is  the  speedier  angel,  and  often  two  or  more  whorls  are 
removed  each  year.  As  the  noble  trees  in  a  dense  Sierra 
forest  arise  200  to  300  fet^t,  the  great  columnar  trunks  are 
always  shorn  of  their  limbs  to  the  very  crown.  This 
crown  is  seldom  invaded;  it  preserves  its  domed  integrity 
inviolate  through  the  centuries,  always  decorated,  in  the 
season,  with  hundreds  of  royal-purple  or  burnished-gold 
caskets,  in  graduated  circles — not  a  branch  awry  nor  a 
casket  missing — architectural  precision  and  regal  splendor 
magnificently  displayed  in  the  silent  depths  of  the-path- 
less  woods. 


66  WEST-AMERICAN 

Tribe  Two  -ARAUCAftiE/E 
SOUTHERN    PITCH-TREES 

Mostly  lofty  trees,  with  branches  in  symmetrical 
whorls;  flowers  dioecious  (male  and  female  on  sepa- 
rate trees);  cones  large,  globular,  or  ovate;  scales  nu- 
merous, arranged  spirally,  deciduous,  united  with  the 
bract,  and  each  bearing  but  one  seed. 

Three  Genera:  Araucaria,  Agathis  (Dammara  of,  au- 
thors), and  Belis  (Ounninghamia).  All  natives  of  South 
America  and  the  South  Pacific  islands.  Many  species 
successfully  cultivated  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

(Mentioned  here  to  complete  the  classification). 

Tribe  Three.-TAXODIE/E 
THE  TAXODIADS. 

Less  resinous  than  the  two  preceding  tribes,  but, 
like  them,  differing  fundamentally  from  the  next 
(Cupressince)  in  having  spiral  cones,  leaves,  etc. 

Cypress-like   trees,  including  those  of  the  largest 


CONE-BEARERS.  67 

size;  abundant  in  past  ages  of  the  earth,  a  few  species 
only  now  extant.  The  leaves  are  scale-like  or  linear; 
cones  (maturing  in  one  season)  globular  or  oblong, 
woody;  seeds  2  to  6  on  each  scale,  narrowly  winged. 
Two  classes: — 


Class  A-SEMPERVIRENTES 

EVERGREEN  TAXODIADS. 

Trees  retaining  their  leaves  alive  during  several 
years. 

Four  Genera:  Sequoia,  Cryptomeria,  Agathis,  and 
Seiadopitis  (the  three  last  named  not  native  to  West- 
ern America  but  often  met  with  in  cultivation).  One 
genus,  peculiar  to  California: — 


Seventh  Genus,  SEQUOIA 

CALIFORNIA  REDWOODS  OR  BIG  TREES- 

The  largest  and  most  magnificent  trees  known; 
peculiarly  confined  to  the  limits  of  California.  Cones 
woody,  globular,  of  nearly  equal-sized  scales,  arranged 
in  three  coils,  and  diverged  at  right  angles  from  the 


68  WEST-AMERICAN 

axis;  thick  and  ob- pyramidal,  shrinking  a  little  when 
ripe,  and  discharging  the  numerous  seeds,  but  not 
changing  position.  Male  flowers,  yellow,  about  \  inch 
long,  terminating  short  branchlets.  Male  flowers, 
as  well  as  cones  on  scaly  peduncles  \  to  1-J-  inches 
long.  Trees  of  great  size  with  very  thick  fibrous 
bark,  deeply  furrowed  longitudinally,  and  peculiar, 
reddish,  very  valuable  wood.  Twenty-five  extinct 
Species;  two  survivors! — 

No.  1 — Coast    Redwood    -    -    S.  sempervirens,  Endl. 

Famous  lumber  trees  of  California,  growing  only 
near  the  ocean  in  numerous  groves  from  Monterey 
Bay  to  the  Oregon  line.  Cones  the  size  of  a  boy's 
marble;  leaves  linear,  about  half  an  inch  long,  in  two 
ranks,  the  longest  leaves  in  the  middle  of  the  growth 
of  the  season,  giving  an  elliptical  form  to  the  flat 
branchlets,  a  feature  common  to  other  two-ranked 
leaves,  but  most  conspicuous  in  this  redwood.  The 
peduncles  of  both  male  flowers  and  cones  are  about 
*an  inch  long  and  clothed  with  short  scales,  in  striking 
contrast  to  the  leaves;  the  end  portion  of  each  branch- 
let  similarly  clothed  with  short  scales,  grading  into 
the  elliptically-disposed,  linear  leaves  of  the  branchlet 

TENACITY    AND   VALUE    OF    THE   SEQUOIAS. 

The  Coast  Redwood  is  unequaled  in  the  Conifir  fam- 
ily for  tenacity  of  life.     Stumps  freely  sprout  from  the 


CONE-BEARERS.  69 

base,  in  time  reforesting  the  region,  while  trees  of  any 
age  throw  out  branches  from  adventitious  buds  in  their 
bodies,  even  from  the  fire-denuded  heart-wood. 

The  felling  of  monster  redwoods  of  both  the  Coast  and 
Sierra  species,  and  the  manufacture  of  their  trunks  into 
lumber,  by  the  use  of  modern  machinery  and  appliances, 
afford  examples  of  the  most  stupendous  lumber  operations 
ever  witnessed;  but  alas!  the  end  is  near.  At  the  pres- 
ent rate  of  destruction  not  an  unprotected  Sequoia  of 
lumber-producing  size  Will  be  left  standing  twfenty  years 
hence. 


No.  2  -Giant  Set|UOia         -        S.  gigantea,  Decaisne. 

Gigantic  trees,  limited  to  a  few  groves  in  the  high 
Sierra  from  Placer  and  Calaveras  Counties  to  Kings 
County.  Trees  not  sprouting  from  the  base  or  ad- 
ventitious buds,  as  in  the  other  species.  Cones  about 
the  size  of  a  hen's  egg;  leaves  scale-like,  scattered. 
This  matchless  "Big  Tree"  (often  miscalled  Welling- 
tonia),  is  abundant  in  cultivation  up  and  down  the 
•coast  as  well  as  abroad,  and  is  so  well  known  that 
further  description  is  not  needed,  but  it  may  be  stated 
briefly  that  trees  in  the  Sierra  have  been  determined 
to  be  300  to  400  feet  high  without  a  limb  for  150 
to  200  feet,  and  30  to  40  feet  in  diameter,  while 
their  age  must  be  1,500  to  3,000  years.  Trees  of  the 
preceding  generation  (as  shown  by  their  stubs)  seem 
to  have  attained  a  life  period  of  4,000  to  5,000  years, 
and  all  present  trees  have  the  appearance  of  vigorous* 


70  WEST-AMERICAN 

youth,  with  full  crowns  of  limbs,  and  seldom  a  hollow 
heart  or  decrepit  trunk. 

CRYPTOMERIA    JAPONICA. 

A  tree  much  in  cultivation  in  California,  and  nearly 
related  to  the  Redwoods,  is  Cryptomeria  Japonica,  or  Ja- 
pan Sacred  Cypress;  so  close  is  the  resemblance  to  a 
young  Sequoia  that  it  is  often  mistaken  for  our  "Big 
Tree,"  having  the  same  general  appearance,  the  swell  of 
the  trunk  near  the  base,  and  finely  divided  branches;  but 
the  trees  come  to  fruit-bearing  when  young,  with  large 
quantities  of  small,  globose  cones,  clothed  with  free,  subu- 
late scales,  and  the  leaves  are  awl-shaped  and  succulent, 
like  those  of  the  Norfolk  Island  Pine. 


Class  B.-DENUD/E 
BALD    TAXODIADS. 

Trees  with  small,  tender,  deciduous  leaves;  cones  em- 
bossed or  reticulated.  Two  Genera,  neither  in  Western 
America.  Glyptostrobus,  the  Embossed  Cedar,  with 
beautifully  sculptured  cones,  is  a  native  of  South  China. 

Taxodium  (largely  present  in  early  ages)  is  represented 
by  one  species  in  the  Southern  States,  and  a  second  in 
Mexico.  This  is  the  celebrated  ''Bald  Cypress,"  of  the 
Southern  swamps,  and  is  particularly  noted  for  its 
"  knees" — conical  bodies  rising  from  its  roots,  to  a  height 
of  2  to  4  feet. 


No.  12.    Characters  of  the  Evergreen  group  of  the  Spiral-coned  Big- 
Trees  or  Taxodiads. 


CONE-BEARERS.  77 

DIVISION  II. 

VERTICILLATJE, 

THE    VERTICILL-CONE    TREES. 

Cone-bearing  trees  with  circular  (verticillate)  de- 
velopment, i.  e.,  their  leaves,  bracts  -  and  cone-scales 
arise  from  the  stem  or  cone-axis,  in  horizontal  whorls 
(verticills)  of  twos — always  opposed — or  circlets  of 
three  (ternate).  Male  flowers  globose,  2  to  4  lines 
long.  Cones  ( Cupressus  excepted)  requiring  but  one 
season  to  mature. 

Embraces  two  tribes: — 

Tribe  One     CUPRESS1NE/E 
CYPRESSES  AND  THEIR  ALLIES. 

This  tribe  includes  a  large  number  of  genera  and 
species  of  slow-growing  trees,  most  of  them  in  the 


7?  WEST-AMERICAN  , 

Old  World  and  Australia,  with  four  genera  in  the 
United  States,  comprising  ten  species,  nine  of  them  in 
Northwest  America.  The  wood  of  all  these  trees  is 
more  or  lesfe  fragrant  and  pungent;  the  leaves,  small 
and  scale-like;  the  cones  small,  with  scales  valvate  or 
peltate.  They  are  represented  in  America  by  two 
pairs  of  closely-allied  genera:  — 


First  Pair,  The  Arbor-Vitae 

Spire-shaped  trees,  with  cones  oblong  and  scales  flat, 
convex,  or  thickened;  branchlets  with  sprays  of  foli- 
age flattened  horizontally,  and  decurrent  leaves  of 
two  forms.  Two  genera:  — 


Eighth  Genus,  THUYA-Linn. 

TRUE  ARBOR  VrLffi. 

Fertile  scales  6,  unequal  in  size,  thin;  seeds  12. 
Two  species  in  America  (called  Cedars),  one  in  the 
Eastern  States,  the  other  in  the  Northwest.  Heart- 
wood  reddish. 

No.  i— Pacific  Red  Cedar 

Tli.  plicata,  Lambert,  1803. 
Th.  giganlea,  Nuttall. 

Noble  trees,  with  headquarters  of  greatest  devel- 
opment around  Puget  Sound.  Apt  to  taper  rapidly 


CONE-BEARERS.  73  . 

from  a  thick,  hollow  base,  hence  defective  for  wide 
lumber,  but  highly  prized  for  dugout  boats;  also  the 
wood,  being  very  durable,  is  largely  used  for  shingles, 
clapboards,  etc. 


Ninth  Genus,  LIBOCEDRUS    ' 

INCENSE  CEDAR. 

Coaes  oblong,  f  to  1  inch  long;  fertile  scales  2, 
equal  in  size;  thick,  convex;  seeds  4,  long-winged. 

No.  1 — Post   Cedar        -  £.  decurrens,  Torrey. 

Beautiful  and  very  Valuable  trees  of  California 
mountains.  Most  of  the  trees  affected  within  by  a 
fungus — dry  rot — which,  however,  does  not  materially 
injure  the  timber  for  use  as  posts,  ties,  etc. 

Two  oriental  genera:  Thuyopsis  and  Biota,  belong  to  the 
same  group  (Arbor-Vitse),  and  are  often  found  in  cultiva- 
tion on  the  Pacific  Coast,  being  small,  pyramidal  trees, 
with  close  foliage,  often  beautifully  variegated. 

Second  Pair,  True  Cypresses. 

Cupressi. 

Cones  globular  and  the  scales  ob-pyramidal  and 
peltate,  frequently  with  prominent  bosses  or  ears,  the 
vestiges  of  the  reduced  scale-tips.  Heart-wood  yel- 
lowish. Two  genera: — 


74  WEST-AMERICAN 


Tenth  Genus,  CHAM/ECYPARIS 

Spach. 

FLAT-BRANCHED  CYPRESSES. 

Very  graceful  Northern  trees,  branchlets  forming 
flat,  horizontal  sprays  of  foliage,  and  leaves  two- 
ranked;  cones  very  small,  J  to  \  inch  thick,  maturing 
in  one  year;  seeds  few,  narrowly  winged.  One  species 
in  the  Eastern  States,  two  in  the  Northwest:— 

No.  1— Alaska  CypreSS  Oh.  Nutkcensis,  Spach. 

Abundant  around  Puget  Sound  and  northward  on 
the  islands  and  peninsulas  of  Alsaka.  Branchlets 
strongly  declined,  giving  the  tree  a  dejected  appear- 
ance. Timber  a  bright,  clear  yellow,  highly  prized 
for  cabinetwork,  and  often  called  "Alaska  Cedar." 

No.  2 — LaWSOn  CypreSS  -  -  Gh.  Lawsoniana,  Parlat. 
Most  beautiful  of  ornamental  trees,  with  its  fan-like, 
horizontal  or  declined  sprays  of  foliage,  and,  in  the  . 
season,  its  numerous  small  globular  cones.  Much  in 
cultivation  on  the  Pacific  Slope.  Timber  light  cream 
color,  very  serviceable,  with  a  satin  gloss  and  a  pun- 
gent, aromatic  odor.  Known  in  Oregon  as  "Port 
Orford  Cedar." 


Pacific  Red  Cedar^ 


No.  13.-    Characters  of  the  Flat-branched,  Arbor  Vitse  group  of 
Cypr«»s-lik«  trees. 


CONE-BEARERS.  75 

Eleventh  Genus,  CUPRESSUS 

Linn. 
SPIRE-BRANCHED  CYPRESSES. 

Trees  or  shrubs  with  branchlets  spire-shaped,  not 
flattened  as  preceding  genus;  cones  larger,  requiring 
two  years  to  mature;  seeds  numerous,  6  to  20  to 
each  scale,  leaves  not  in  two  ranks,  but  scattered; 
trees  yielding  without  injury  to  treatment  with  prun- 
ing shears,  hence  much  used  for  hedges,  windbreaks, 
and  for  ornamental  effects.  Five  species,  in  two 
groups: — 

Group  I     Southern  Cypresses 

No.  i— Cuadalupe  Cypress 

C.  Guadalupensis,  S.  Watson. 

Small  trees,  native  of  Guadalupe  Island  off  the  coast 
of  Mexico,  Peninsula  of  California,  and  the  coast  of 
San  Diego  County,  California.  Branchlets  slender, 
drooping,  light  green;  the  bark,  flaking  off,  leaves  a 
claret-red  surface  to  the  limbs. 

No.  2 — Arizona  CypreSS  C-  Arizomca,  Greene. 

Becoming  large  trees  on  the  highest  peaks  of  the 

Arizona  mountains,  the  bark  of  the  large  limbs  flakes 


76  WEST-AMERICAN 

off,  leaving  a  dark  red  surface.  Branchlets  erect, 
short,  stout,  and  distinctly  quadrangular,  caused  by 
the  closely-appressed  leaves  in  four  ranks;  cones 
about  f  inch  in  diameter. 

BEAUTIFUL  CYPRESS.     Var.  bonita.     \\.  var.  * 
Beautiful  trees  of  much  lower  stations,  being  found 

on  moist  lands  along  the  mouths  of  mountain  streams; 

the  trunk  and  limbs  not  the  least  decorticated. 

Abundant    and  of  large  size  in    Bonita  Canyon, 

Chirricahua  Mountains,  Southeast  Arizona. 

Croup  2.    Californian  Cypresses 

No.  3—  Monterey   Cypress 

C.  macrocarpa,  Hartweg. 

Familiar  hedge-making  trees,  indigenous  upon 
Point  Pinos,  near  Monterey,  where  the  cutting  winds 
from  the  ocean  have  fashioned  the  old  slow-growing 
trees  into  fantastic  shapes.  Cones  the  largest  of  the 
genus,  about  an  inch  thick.  Seeds  black. 

No.  4— North-Coast  Cypress 

C.  Qoveniana,  Gordon. 

Rare,  shrubby  trees  from  Monterey  Bay  northward 
to  Mendocino.  Foliage  pea  green;  cones  small,  of 
scales;  seeds  dark.  Abundant  on  Mt.  Tamalpias 
near  San  Francisco. 


*New  variety,  not  before  published. 


f  the  Spiiv-b 
True  C 


CONE-BEARERS.  77 

ar 

PIGMY  CYPRESS.     Var.pigma.     n.  var.* 

Shrubs  or  small  trees,  from  4  inches  to  10  feet  high, 
but  whatever  the  size,  freely-bearing  and  often  retain- 
ing the  cones  through  many  years;  cones  small,  about 
^  inch  thick,  of  few  scales  and  seeds.  Sparsely  found 
on  the  ashen  " White  Plains"  back  from  the  coast, 
near  Mendocino. 


No.  5— California  Mountain  Cypress    • 

C.  Macnabiana,  Murray. 

Large  trees  or  tall  shrubs  branching  from  the 
ground.  Branchlets  numerous,  slender;  foliage  dark 
green;  cones  very  small,  little  more  than  J  inch  in 
diameter,  with  prominent  bosses  or  scale  vestiges. 
Seeds  light  brown.  Near  Ukiah,  and  on  Red  Moun- 
tain northward  to  vicinity  of  Mt.  Shasta. 

Another  group,  Callitrinse,  the  brittle-stemmed  Cy- 
presses, with  five  genera,  is  sparsely  represented  in  culti- 
vation by  several  species  of  Frenela,  Actinostrobus,  and 
other  curious  little  trees. 


Tribe  Two.— JUNIPERINE^. 

THE   JUNIPERS. 

This,  the  last  tribe  of  the  cypress-like  trees,  is  pe- 
culiar in  being  so  compact  and  uniform  a  group  that, 


"*  New  variety,  not  before  published. 


78  WEST-AMERICAN 

though  composed  of  a  large  number  of  species,  they 
are  all  usually  regarded  as  forming  one  genus,  with 
small,  consolidated,  berry-like  fruit.  The  berries 
often  show  vestiges  of  scales  like  ear-tips. 


Twelfth  Genus,  JUNIPERUS 

Linn. 
THE  JUNIPERS. 

Twenty  species  in  the  Old  World  (two  of  them  ap- 
parently reaching  North  America),  five  in  Mexico, 
and  four  or  five  in  more  northern  regions.  Heart- 
wood  reddish.  Flowers  often  dioecious. 

Three  Sub-Genera: — 

Sub  Genus  I,   OXYCEDRUS 

PRICKLY  JUNIPERS. 

Flowers  axillary;  leaves  in  3'sr  free  and  jointed  at 
base,  awl-shaped,  sharp  pointed,  whitened  above,  not 
glandular-pitted.  Berries  small,  smooth. 

Twelve  Species;  1  in  Western  North  America: — 

No.  I— Common   Juniper  J-  communis,  Linn. 

Shrubs  with  spreading  branches,  rarely  a  small 
tree;  the  branchlets  thickly  armed  with  half-inch 
sharp  leaves;  berries  dark  blue. 

Eastern  States  and  Canada,  reaching  Northwest 
America,  in  British  Columbia  and  Alaska. 


CONE-BEARERS.  79 

CREEPING  JUNIPER.     Var.  alpina,  Engelm. 

A  prostrate  form  of  the  above  that  reaches  the 
highest  peaks  of  Western  ranges.  Leaves  one- half 
inch  long,  in  two  ranks,  acute;  berries  small,  dark 
blue,  fleshy. 

Sub  Genus  2,  SABINA 

SAVIN  JUNIPERS. 

Flowers  terminal;  on  short,  lateral  branchlets; 
leaves  ternate  (or  opposite)  of  two  forms,  mostly 
scale- like  and  closely  appressed,  often  glandular 
pitted.  Berries  mostly  very  small  and  numerous. 

Fourteen  Species;  2  in  Western  N.  America:— 

No.  2— California  Juniper  •  J.Californica,  Carriers. 

A  shrub  much  divided  from  the  root;  in  the  Coast 
Kanges  to  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  and  frequent 
in  the  plains  of  Southern  California;  berries  large,  the 
size  of  peas,  reddish  when  ripe,  dry  and  sweetish; 
leaves  ternate. 

GREAT  BASIN  JUNIPER.     Var.  (a)   Utahcnsis,  Engelm. 

On  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  and  on  the 
mountains  of  Nevada  and  Utah,  confined  to  the 
Great  Basin  region.  Berries  small;  branches  slender; 
leaves  ternate. 

STONE-SEED  JUNIPER.     Var.  (b)  osteosperma,  Engelm. 

Rare  on  Guadalupe  Island,  off  the  coast  of  Lower 
California. 


So  WEST-AMERICAN 

No.  3— Western   Juniper  -  «/.  octidentalis,  Hooker. 

Small  trees  on  the  mountains  from  Eastern  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon  along  the  high  ridges  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Sierra  to  the  San  Bernardino  Mountains,  at 
elevations  of  7,000  to  10,000  feet.  Berries  small, 
blue-black,  fleshy  and  resinous;  timber  very  valuable 
for  fence-posts,  etc. 

VARIETIES  OF  WESTERN  JUNIPER. 
ONE-SEEDED  JUNIPER.     Var.  (a)  monosperma,  Engelm. 
A  form   with  single,  brown  seeds.     Near  the  San 
Francisco  Mountains,  Northern  Arizona,  and  north- 
.wnrd  to  Colorado. 

DOUBLE-SEEDED  JUNIPER.     Var.  (6)  conjugens,  Engelm. 

Berries  mostly  two-seeded,  flattened,  and  emargi- 
nate;  small  trees  on  limestone  hills  near  El  Paso, 
Western  Texas.  ^ 

(This  and  the  i^b  next  variej^s  are  not  strictly  in 
our  Northwestern  region,  but  included  to  complete 
the  history  of  this  polymorphous  species.) 

NAKED-SEEDED  JUNIPER.  Var.  (c)  gymnocarpa.  n.  var. 
Small  round-headed  Junipers,  abundant  on  the 
Sandia  Mountains,  near  Albuquerque,  N.  M.;  with 
slender  branchlets  and  small,  blue-black,  abundant 
berries,  the  solitary  seed,  half-exposed  at  apex — may 
receive  the  above  name. 


r.  .«, 


TJHI7ERSIT7 


CONE-BEARERS.  81 

No.  4-  Virginia  Juniper  J-   Virgmiaw,,  Linn. 

Small,  conical  trees  of  the  Eastern  States,  reaching 
Northern  Arizona.  Branchlets  very  slender  and 
drooping;  berries  small,  numerous,  glaucous,  dry. 
Heart- wood  scarlet- red;  odorous,  compact,  and  very 
durable.  (Miscalled  Red  Cedar.) 

Sub  Genus  3.    CUPRESSOIDES 

CYPRESS-LIKE  JUNIPERS- 

Flowers  mostly  terminal;  leaves  in  opposite  pairs, 
4-rowed,  scale-like  and  closely  appressed,  in  the  adult 
plants.  Berries  more  or  less  angular  and  with  prom- 
inent vestiges  of  the  scales. 

Ten  Species,  1  in  Western  America: — 

No.  5— Thick-Barked  Juniper 

J.  pachyphlcea,  Torrey. 

Trees  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico,  and  Northern 
Mexico,  with  thick,  hard  bark,  finely  checked  like  a 
white  oak;  berries  large  and  sweetish,  much  prized  by 
aborigines  for  food.  Unique  among  the  Junipers  for 
its  thick,  hard,  brittle  bark. 


TAXADS. 


SECOND    NATURAL  ORDER. 

TAXACEJE. 

Yews  and  Their  Allies. 

This  order  of  evergreens  is  really  very  numerous, 
but  as *its  members  are  principally  in  the  Old  World 
or  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  i't  does  not  seem  of  im- 
portance to  us  of  the  Northwest.  The  flowers  are 
dioecious,  i.  e.t  male  and  female  on  separate  trees. 
The  Order  comprises  four  tribes  with  twelve  genera 
and  about  ninety  species.  Two  genera  only  are  rep- 
resented in  America,  each  with  a  species  in  the 
Northwest. 

Thirteenth  Genus  TAXUS-Li™ 

THE  TRUE  YEWS. 

These  trees  are  very  numerous  abroad,  with  two 
species  in  the  Eastern  States  and  one  in  the  North- 
west.    Fruit  a  small,   red,   fleshy,  sweetish  cup,  con- 
taining a  solitary,  erect,  pointed  seed. 
(82) 


CONE-BEARERS,  83 

No.  1— Pacific  Yew  -  -  T.  brevifolia,  NuttalL 
Small  trees  growing  along  streams  of  British 
Columbia,  Western  Washington,  and  Oregon,  .and 
extending  along  the  California  coast  to  the  Santa 
Cruz  Mountains.  Leaves  small,  in  two  ranks. 
Wood  tough  and  elastic. 

Fourteenth    Genus,    TUMION- 

Eaf. 
Torreya  of  Arnott. 

False  Nutmeg- 
Singular  trees  of  four  species,  found  in  Japan, 
China,  Florida,  and  California,  respectively.  Foliage 
of  a  heavy,  disagreeable  odor;  fruit  resembling  the 
nutmeg  of  commerce  in  both  exterior  and  interior 
appearance,  but  having  none  of  its  qualities.  Seed 
large,  solitary. 

No.  1— California  Nutmeg-  T.CaUfornkum, Greene. 

(Torreya  Calif  or  nica,  Torrey.) 

Rarely  a  large  tree  in  the  Coast  Mountains  along 
streams,  and  smaller  in  the  Sierra  as  far  interior  as 
Yosemite  Valley.  Fruit  pear-shaped,  1  to  \\  inches 
long,  shining,  pendent  from  near  the  ends  of  the 
branchlets.  Leaves  large,  two  to  three  inches  long, 
1  to  2  lines  wide,  flat,  acute,  shining  above,  and  in 
two  ranks;  the  longest  leaves  midway  of  the  season's 
growth,  rendering  the  many  flat  bmnchlets  narrowly 


84  WEST-AMERICAN 

elliptical,  adding  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  these  rare 
trees. 

COAST  NUTMEG.     Var.  liltoralis.     n.  var. 

The  original  description  of  the  California  Nutmeg 
being  drawn  from  the  small  form  on  the  high,  dry, 
western  flank  of  the  Sierra,  on  a  line  from  Downieville 
to  Mariposa,  the  more  robust,  often  gigantic  trees 
affecting  the  low,  fog-drenched  coast  from  Cape  Men- 
docino  to  Point  Conception,  and  with  fruit  large  as  egg- 
plums,  may  be  considered  as  a  variety  under  the 
above  names. 


CONE-BEARERS.  83 

PERSONAL    CHARACTERISTICS    OF     THE 
CONE-BEARERS. 


Comparing  the  groups  of  trees,  their  predominant 
characters  impress  the  thoughtful  observer  with  the 
force  of  distinct  attributes,  akin  to  personalities. 


The  Long- Cone,  Lumber  Pines 

Are  embodiments  of  magnificence,  aristocracy,  aiul 
excellence.  Usually  lofty  and  grand,  they  are  also 
sequestered  in  choice  locations  of  middle  altitudes, 
admitting  to  neighborship,  but  iiot  fellowship,  indi- 
viduals of  all  sorts,  patricians  or  plebeians,  but  always 
carrying  their  aristocratic  heads  a  little  higher  and 
holding  out  their  long,  sugar-loaf  rolls  of  resin- 
embalmed  seeds  far  above  the  heads  of  the  smaller, 
shorter-fruited  species.  Trees  yielding  abundance  of 
unexcelled  material  alike  to  pioneer  shakemaker  and 
subsequent  lumber  manufacturer  who  has  but  to  level 
these  noble  giants  to  eartli  to  procure  a  rich  endow- 
ment. 

The  Short- Cone,  Alpine  Pines 

Are  illustrations  of  the  daring,  aspiring,  cliff-climb- 
ing element  in  the  Pine  family.  As  the  four  fighting, 
storm-beaten  coast  pines  battle  their  way  down  to  the 
foam-flecked  shore  of  the  sea,  despite  ocean  winds  or 


86  WEST-AMERICAN 

drifting  sands,  so  these  short-coned  species  climb  up 
to,  and  cling  upon,  the  bare,  steep  rocks  of  alpine 
peaks,  thrusting  their  flexile  stems  under  the  very 
snouts  of  glaciers,  or  pressing  with  might  and  main 
through  high  passes,  though  beaten  prostrate  the 
while  by  wind,  and  entombed  half  of  each  year  in  ice. 

The,   Oblong -Cone,  Plume  Pines 

Are  especial  representatives  of  the  esthetic,  the  beau- 
tiful, the  graceful,  in  the  Pine  family.  Selecting  se- 
questered, lofty,  scarcely-known  country  seats  near 
the  crowned  monarchs  of  the  Sierra,  embowered  by 
kindred  Pine,  Spruce,  and  Fir,  they  pose  on  the  steep 
inclines  like  colossal  figures  on  Nature's  easel — ex- 
quisite specimens  of  modern  tree-sculpture,  decked 
with  emerald  garments,  and  waving  plumes,  abound- 
ing in  the  double-curve,  Hogarth  line  of  grace  and 
beauty,  and  but  half  concealing  their  royal-purple- 
hued,  pendent  cones. 

The  Globe- Cone,  Nut  Pines 

Represent  the  provident,  liberal  element  in  the  Pine 
family,.  Generally  found  on  low  hills  or  sunny, 
undulating  plains,  they  spread  out  their  strong  limbs, 
heavily  laden,  in  easy  reach  of  the  aborigine;  the 
cones  being  unarmed,  few-scaled,  and  containing 
comparatively  the  largest,  most  delicious,  and  nutri- 
^  tions  seeds  of  any  trees  of  the  family. 


CONE-BEARERS.  87 

The  Thin-Bark,  Tamarack  Pines 

Are  the  unfortunate,  assaulted  and  impoverished 
members  of  the  Pine  family.  Knocked  about  on  the 
bleak,  sub-alpine  heights,  their  limbs  attacked  by  a 
mistletoe  of  their  own  nurturing,  which  circles  and 
kills  the  branches;  or  by  a  mysterious  agent  which 
causes  the  branches  to  turn  into  close  coils,  clogging 
the  sap  and  eventually  killing  the  tree;  their  trunks, 
meanwhile,  attenuated  and  thin-barked,  are  attacked 
at  every  stage  by  tree-boring  larvse  and  bark-eating 
birds  causing  pitch  to  stream  from  their  wrinkled 
countenances  like  Niobe's  tears,  appealing  to  man  for 
pity.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection,  that 
we  derive  our  most  sympathetic  of  English  words, 
pity,  from  the  Greek's  name  for  the  pine  tree — Pitys 
— in  allusion  to  this  weeping,  pitch-yielding  character 
of  the  pine  trees. 

The  Broken- Gone,  Lumber  Pines 

Comprise  the  profuse,  cosmopolitan  utilitarians  of  the 
family  of  pines.  With  forms  innumerable  and  indi- 
viduals widely  distributed,  they  have  developed  «the 
most  adaptable  and  useful  qualities,  both  in  behalf  of 
Mother  Nature,  in  clothing  with  forests  large  sections 
of  country,  and  of  man,  in  furnishing  most  valuable 
and  procurable  lumber  and  fuel -producing  factors  of 
civilization. 


88  WEST-AMERICAN 

The  Lone  Torrey  Pine' 

Is  doubtless  the  struggling  vestige  of  a  once  vast 
forest  occupying  a  far  northern  region,  but,  driven 
southward  by  the  glacial  ice,  and  attempting  to  return, 
is  now  stranded  on  this  hospitable  shore;  or,  as  some 
will  declare,  these  singular  trees  may  be  precursors 
of  a  coming,  aggressive,  conquering  species  destined 
to  reforest  the  southern  coast  hills. 

The  Heavy,  Spine- Cone  Pines 

Present  the  ponderous,  massive,  and  coarse,  also  the 
protecting  and  defending  principles  in  the  multifari- 
ous Pine  family.  Inhabiting  hot,  scorched  regions? 
contending  there  with  dwarfed  oaks  and  chaparral, 
these  trees  are  seldom  slim  and  feeble,  but  rather 
broadened  out  and  freely  branching,  ever  holding 
aloft  their  enormous  clusters  of  fruit.  What  end  is 
subserved  by  the  exceeding  massiveness  and  the 
formidable  armament  of  their  cones?  That  it  is  a 
special  adaptation  of  conditions  to  environment,  of 
armament  to  the  needs  of  battle,  we  may  be  sure. 
Doubtless  a  thick,  strong,  hard  investment  of  carpel- 
lary  scales  defends  the  ovules  from  intense  heat  better 
than  would  a  light  one.  *  Then,  too  (for  there's  no 
end  of  speculation  in  this  direction),  it  may  be  these 
scales  are  a  defense  against  the  attacks  of  insects  that 
infest,  and  often  render  abortive  the  seed  crops  of 


CONE-BEARERS.  Sq 

4 

other  soft-scaled  pines  and  the  spruces.  And  the 
enormous  hooks  of  their  cones,  do  they  not  defend 
against  the  attacks  of  nut-hunting  squirrels,  which 
else  might  abridge  the  dissemination,  if  not  compass 
the  extinction,  of  the  race? 

The  Closed-  Cone,  Slender  Pines 

Are  the  aggressive,  conservative,  self-sacrificing,  but 
surely  propagating  group  of  the  wonderful  Pine  fam- 
ily. They  are  strategical  warriors  from  antiquity. 
Obstreperous  and  tenacious,  they  intrude  upon  coveted 
ground  and  multiply  upon  it  so  numerously  that 
they  starve  out  all  other  trees  and  are  obliged  to 
stand  close  together,  crowding  and  fighting,  content 
to  be  squeezed  to  slim  saplings  if  only  they  succeed 
in  lifting  but  a  scant  spire  of  foliage  to  the  sunlight 
,  and  the  wind-gust,  in  order  to  elaborate  sap  enough 
to  bring  to  perfection  their  many  belts  of  suspended, 
wonderful,  wooden,  sculptured  seed-caskets  of  long- 
preserved  life-germs,  to  reforest  the  region  upon  occa- 
sion. 

The  Pendent- Coned  Trees  —  The  Spruces 

Are  the  cosmopolitan  frequenters  and  benefactors  of 
any  region  wherever  graceful  forms  are  required  to 
relieve  a  landscape  from  monotony  or  ugliness;  be 
it  the  broad  intervales  of  the  great  Northwest  forests, 
or  the  otherwise  drear  summit  valleys  of  surrounding 
mountains.  Rising  gracefully  from  the  general  earth- 


go  WEST-AMERICAN 

level,  their  spires  of  emerald'  pierce  the  azure  sky 
with  every  form  of  culminating  cone  and  minaret,  all 
decked,  especially  around  the  apex,  with  garlands  of 
lovely  pendent  fruit  in  purple  or  gold,  disposed  so 
attractively  as  to  be  the  despair  of  connoisseurs  in  art. 

The  Upright- Coned  Trees — The  Firs 
Are  the  symmetrical,  law-abiding  exponents  of  vis- 
ible evolution,  adding  spray  after  spray,  stratum 
above  stratum,  story  above  story  to  a  vegetable 
structure  of  exceptional  regularity;  the  verdure-clad 
arms  in  many  series,  outstretched  and  joining  hands 
all  around,  uplift  the  emerald  tunics  with  scalloped 
borders  draping  the  hidden  form  from  lowly  pediment 
to  airy  finial.  Standing  sentinel  on  the  narrowed 
shoulders,  are  the  bird-like  cones;  prim,  erect,  often 
feathered,  too,  like  a  tropic  songster;  they  watch  the 
changing  hues  of  their  mates  and  note  the  approach 
of  autumn,  when  all  their  fine  plumage  must  drop 
away  piecemeal,  and  the  released  treasure  of  winged 
germs — the  life  product  of  the  sacrificing  parent — 
may  sail  away  in  spiral  flight,  to  repeat  in  distant 
vales,  the  passing  miracle  of  development. 

The  Great  Sequoias 

Are  the  stupendous,  startling,  yet  conclusive  proofs  of 
the  power  of  Mother  Nature,  when  in  the  mood,  to 
clothe  all  the  earth  with  colossal  vegetation  at  will; 
being  sole  living  examples  of  the  prodigious  size  that 


CONE-BEARERS.  91 

once,  at  least,  characterized  the  vegetable  world,  in  the 
eon  when  monsters  swam  the  sea  and  giants  trod  the 
earth.  These  few  primeval  trees,  necessarily  awe- 
inspiring,  may  well  appear  venerable  too;  stalking  forth 
from  the  dim  Past,  their  matchless,  columnar  trunks 
crowned  with  well-nigh  everlasting  verdure,  they  lift 
their  shaded  brows  to  the  storm  blasts  of  centuries 
with  the  persistence  and  composure  of  olden  gods, 
while  testifying  to  the  present  inhabitants  of  earth, 
"We  are  witnesses  of  your  generations." 

The  American   Cedars 

Are  the  everywhere  recognized  leaders  of  beautiful 
forms  in  vegetable  growth,  and  being  withal  usually 
hardy,  it  is  small  wonder  that  no  ornamental  grounds 
are  considered  complete  without  the  sweet  presence 
of  these  lovely  trees.  In  their  native  homes — the 
dense  forest  or  chaparral  thicket — you  would  not, 
perhaps,  deem  them  remarkable,  for  they  are  com- 
pelled to  abridge  their  flowing  periphery  and  yield 
their  trailing  robes  to  the  pressing  environment  of 
ambitious  neighbors,  but  in  the  protected  home  of  ap- 
preciative man,  they  expand  their  comely  lineaments 
and  pose  in  lawn  and  park  like  animated  statuary, 
the  queens  of  loveliness  and  beauty. 

The   True   Cypresses 
Are  the  accommodating,  self-sacrificing,  shears-end ur- 


gs  CONE-BEARERS. 

ing  members  of  the  great  family  of  Cone-bearers. 
While  most  trees  of  this  order  suffer  greatly  or  die 
outright  upon  the  application  of  the  knife,  the  small- 
leaved  cypresses,  elaborating  the  sap  through  the  epi- 
dermis of  the  slender  twiglets  as  well  as  the  scaly 
leaves,  are  enabled  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  the 
hedger,  and  they  readily  assume  any  shape  desired. 
So  they  allow  themselves  to  be  set  in  long  hedge- 
rows, dressed  true  to  a  line,  or  banked  in  fire  screens 
and  wind-breaks,  or  they  are  clipped  and  trained  to 
shapes  of  arches,  towers,  summer  houses,  temples,  etc., 
nothing  too  elaborate,  whether  beautiful  or  grotesque, 
for  these  gentle  trees  to  imitate. 

The  Junipers 

Are  the  little  economical  commoners  of  this  im- 
portant family.  Arising  from  the  midst  of  miasmatic 
swamps,  thronging  on  the  borders  of  deserts,  or  cling- 
ing to  the  rocky  sides  of  mountains,  with  scant  foliage 
they  elaborate  their  thin  layers  of  wood  annually  to 
form  close-grained,  fragrant,  tough,  long-enduring 
timber,  while  the  shining  berries  are  packed  with 
sugar  or  saturated  with  turpentine.  These  humble 
trees  and  shrubs  are  thus  in  many  regions  the  poor 
man's  best  friend. 


Distribution  of  the  Conifers  in  the  Dif- 
ferent States  and  Territories. 

The  Pacific  Slope  being  that  vast  portion  of  the  Amer- 
ican continent  whose  waters  drain  into  the  Pacific  Ocean 
(also  the  included  Great  Basin),  the  eastern  limit  of  it  is 
the  vertebrae  of  the  continent,  the  high  Rocky  Mountain 
range.  The  Great  Northwest,  whose  forestal  products  are 
briefly  discussed  in  this  volume,  is  taken  to  be  the  north- 
ern portion  of  this  great  slope,  limited,  conventionally, 
on  the  nb^th  by  the  Mexican  boundary  crossing  the  va- 
rious forest-clothed  spurs  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — Mex- 
ico sharing  thus,  some  of  its  trees  with  New  Mexico, 
Arizona  and  California. 

NEW  MEXICO. 

The  forests  of  this  territory  are  quite  limited,  mostly 
confined  to  the  high  plateaus  and  mountain  ranges  west 
of  the  Rio  Grande— principal  of  which  is  the  long  Col- 
orado plateau  culminating  easterly  in  Mt.  Taylor,  west- 
erly in  the  lofty  San  Francisco  Mountains  of  Arizona. 

Above  an  elevation  of  7,000  feet  forms  of  the  widely 
distributed  Yellow  Pine  appear,  particularly  the  daflt- 
barked  variety,  nigr leans.  Higher  on  the  mountains  are 
Douglas  Spruce  and  its  cork-barked  variety,  the  large- 
cone  form  of  the  Flexilis  White  Pine,  and  a  few  bodies 
of  the  newly  discovered  Arizona  Cypress.  The  foothills 
and  lower  plateaus  are  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of 
many  kinds  of  Juniper,  including  the  singular  thick- 
barked  species,  and  notably,  by  that  most  valuable  food- 

(93} 


94  WEST-AMERICAN 

yielding  tree,   the  New  Mexican  piiion,  tons  of  whose 
delicious  pine  nuts  are  gathered  and  exported  annually. 


With  the  exception  of  the  great  Colorado  plateau, 
whose  western  portion  stretches  across  central  Arizona, 
the  forest  areas  of  this  territory  are  limited.  This  plateau, 
embracing  a  region  300  by  70  miles,  overlaid  by  scoria 
thrown  out,  ages  ago,  by  the  extinct  Volcano  of  Agassiz 
(one  of  the  San  Francisco  peaks),  is  clothed  throughout 
its  extent  by  a  yellow  piue  forest,  the  proprietors  of  a 
large  lumbering  factory  at  FlagstafFleveling  large  sections 
of  it  annually.  The  brown-bark  variety  of  Yellow  Pine 
is  particularly  abundant  in  this  forest.  The  high  slopes  of 
Agassiz  and  Humphrey  afford  homes  for  the  large-coned 
form  of  the  Flexilis  White  Pine  and  the  plume-branched 
Foxtail  Pine,  the  Engelmann  Spruce,  the  feather-coned 
Douglas  Spruce  and  its  cork-barked  variety,  the  flat- 
branched  Colorado  White  Fir  and  the  lovely  Arizona 
Cypress.  The  foothills  and  broad  border  of  this  plateau 
a-re  clothed  with  Nut-phies  and  several  Junipers. 

Southward  the  Mogollon  and  White  Mountains  con- 
tinue sparsely,  this  forest  covering,  while  the  numerous 
detached  peaks  scattered  over  the  southern  portion  of 
the  territory — vestiges  of  vast  ranges  whose  flanks  were 
long  ago  submerged  by  debris  from  the  Grand  Canon  of 
the  Colorado — offer  refuge  for  a  large  variety  of  vegeta- 
tion, much  of  it  related  to  Mexico.  A  large-coned  form 
of  the  Mexican  White  Pine  is  on  the  top  of  Mt.  Graham. 
A  secluded  park  in  the  heart  of  the  Santa  Catalina 
Mountains  contains  the  northernmost  specimens  of  t lie 
new  five-leaved  Arizona  Pine,  which  is  more  abundant 
in  the  Santa  Rita  and  Sierra  Madre  Mountains.  A  robust 


CONE-BEARERS.  95 

form  of  Yellow  Pine  is  abundant  on  the  north  slopes  of 
the  Chirricahua  and  the  Huachuca  Mountains.  The 
new  Broad-leaved  Pine  inhabits  the  Santa  Rita  Moun- 
tains, and  the  new  Apache  Pine  is  found  in  the  wild, 
Apache-infested,  Chirricachua  Mountains,  while  the 
northern  form  of  the  Mexican  White  Pine  is  found  along 
the  streams  in  all  these  scattered  mountains.  Large  sec- 
tions of  the  eastern  part  of  Arizona  are  covered  with  fine 
orchards  of  the  soft-shelled,  delicious  New  Mexican 
Pinon,  while  the  southern  portion  is  supplied  with  an 
overflow  of  the  hard-shelled  Mexican  Pinon.  Several 
Junipers,  including  the  thick,  oak-barked  species,  abound, 
while  on  several  mountains  occur  the  naked,  red-limbed 
Arizona  Cypress,  and  in  a  low,  wet  canon  of  the  Chirrica- 
hua Mountains  is  the  beautiful  Bonita  variety,  with 
never  a  sign  of  a  naked  branch. 

COLORADO. 

The  western  portion  of  this  State  being  composed  of 
a  section  of  the  lofty  Rocky  Mountains,  is  consequently 
rich  in  forest  coverings.  At  altitudes  of  10,000  feet  and 
more,  Engelmann's  Spruce  holds  complete  sway.  Above 
the  spruce  belts  are  the  Rocky  Mountain  White  Phie? 
the  White-bark  Pine,  the  Sub-Alpine  Fir,  and  the  rare 
Alpine  Hemlock.  At  lower  stations  are  found  the  prim 
stratified  Colorado  White  Fir,  and  in  certain  high 
"parks,1'  the  thin-barked,  slim  Tamarack  Pine  takes 
complete  possession.  Below,  and  largely  covering  the 
cool  ravines,  is  the  Rocky  Mountain  variety  of  Yellow 
Pine;  the  ridges  and  mesas  contain  extensive  orchards  of 
tfie  New  Mexican  Pinon,  fringed  and  interspersed  with 
masses  of  the  round-headed  ever-present  commoners  of 
the  West,  the  small-berried  Junipers. 


96  WEST-AMERICAN 

UTAH    AND    NEVADA. 

These  two  territories,  embracing  the  greater  part  of  the 
Great  Basin,  have  similar  mountain  ranges  and  products, 
the  latter  composed  of  limited  quantities  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Yellow  Pine,  the  Engelmann  Spruce  and 
Douglas  Spruce  upon  the  slopes  of  the  quite  lofty  Wasatch 
Range,  while  westward,  in  Nevada,  the  low  and  numer- 
ous short  ranges  bear  on  their  tops  small  groves  of  the 
Foxtail  Pine,  and  the  ranges  nearest  the  California  line 
bear  also  the  carious  single-leaved  Nevada  Pinon,  an- 
ciently, and  at  present,  affording  nutritious  pine  nuts  to 
the  resident  aborigines.  This  pine  and  two  or  three 
Junipers  are  much  used  for  fencing,  and  also  for  fuel  in 
the  forges  of  the  silver  mines  on  the  Comstock,  The 
western  edge  of  Nevada,  embracing  a  portion  of  the 
Sierra,  partakes  of  the  great  Sierra  forest,  described 
elsewhere. 

SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA. 

Cropping  over  the  southern  border  of  California  are  a 
fevv  trees  of  the  cone-shaped  little  Parry  Pine,  abundant 
southward  in  the  San  Rafael  Mountains  of  the  peninsula. 
Centrally  on  the  highest  mountains  of  San  Diego  County, 
are*found  Yellow,  Black,  Big-cone,  and  a  few  trees  of  the 
Sugar  Pine,  while  on  the  eastern  slopes  a  few  of  the 
Nevada  Nut  Pines  struggle  for  a  foothold;  and  opposite, 
on  the  wind-swept  coast  at  Del  Mar,  20  miles  north  of 
San  Diego,  are  found  the  few  battling,  crouching — per- 
haps expiring — trees  of  the  rare,  long  and  5-leaved  Torrey 
Pine.  The  widely-branching,  bush-like  California  Juni- 
per and  the  red-lrnbed  Guadalupe  Cypress,  near  the 
coast,  complete  the  conifers  of  this  county. 

Across  the  western  part  of  San  Bernardino  County,  and 


CONE-BEARERS.  97 

crossing  Orange,  Los  Angeles,  and  Santa  Barbara  Coun- 
ties, stretch  several  ranges  of  mountains  in  a  westerly 
direction,  separating — in  more  ways  than  one — the  warm, 
dry,  salubrious,  but  limited  citrus  region  from  the  cooler, 
better-watered  portion  of  the  State. 

On  the  highest  one  of  the  ranges — the  San  Bernardino 
Mountains — a  considerable  body  of  Black  Pine,  inter- 
spersed with  Yellow  Pine,  abounds.  On  the  lower  part 
of  the  south  flank  fine  trees  of  the  monster  Big-cone 
Pine  are  met  with,  and  also  that  other  prodigy  of  the 
same  nature — the  Big-cone  Spruce — both  trees  being  also 
found  sparsely  elsewhere,  westward. 

In  the  higher  valleys  of  San  Bernardino  and  Gray- 
'  back  are  stalwart,  thick-trunked  trees  of  the  usually  slim 
Tamarack  Pine,  and  on  the  south  side  of  Mt.  San  Ber- 
nardino, at  an  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet,  occurs  a  thin, 
interrupted  belt  of  about  2  miles  of  the  Narrow-cone 
Pine — the  southernmost  limit  of  this  curious  species.  A 
few  trees  of  Sugar  Pine  and  of  the  White-bark  Pine 
occur  near  the  summits.  The  Nevada  Nut-Pine  reaches 
the  eastern,  or  congenial  desert  side  of  the  mountains, 
extending  westward  to  the  railroad  pass  of  the  Tehach'ape 
Mountains.  The  California  form  of  the  Colorado  White 
Fir  is  rarely  met  with  on  the  heights,  and  a  few  trees  of 
Douglas  Spruce,  Incense  Cedar,  and  the  two  Junipers — 
Western  and  California— complete  the  list. 

NORTHERN   CALIFORNIA. 

Two  widely  separate  and  different  mountain  ranges 
uphold  the  unequaled  forest  wealth  of  California.  The 
southern  part  of  the  Coast  Range  presents  forests  of 
Bentham's  variety  of  Yellow  Pine,  above  which  a  few 
Sugar  Pines  hangout  their  long  pendent  cones,  while  the 


9S  WEST-AMERICAN 

eastern  slopes,  facing  Salinas  Valley  and  the  great  San 
Joaquin  Valley,  are  flecked  with  white  masses  of  the 
Gray-leaf  Pine.  Groves  of  Big-cone  Pine  crown  the 
mountains  back  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  and,  near  at  hand, 
is  the  original  locality  of  the  discovery  of  the  Prickle- 
cone  Pine,  abundant  on  the  coasts,  northward. 

But  the  most  wonderful  product  of  the  southern  coast 
ranges  is  the  exceedingly  local  Beautiful  Fir,  with  its 
trim  pinnacle  of  foliage,  and  its  bristle-clothed  cones.  He 
who  would  view  these  graceful  spires  must  take  his  life 
in  his  hands  and  clamber  up  and  over  the  almost  inacces- 
sible fastnesses  of  the  range  of  Santa  Lucia,  near  the 
Monterey  line;  an  achievement  that  has  baffled  many  a 
sturdy  mountaineer  since  Douglas  found  the  tree  and 
named  it  venusta — for  the  goddess  of  beauty — Venus. 

Nearing  Monterey  Bay,  the  well-known  and  widely 
cultivated  Monterey  Pine  and  its  traveling  and  ocean- 
battling  companion,  the  Monterey  Cypress,  are  met  with, 
and  near  Santa  Gruz,  the  first  trees  of  the  California 
Nutmeg  gleam  forth  in  vernal  glory  from  amidst  the  first 
trees  of  the  world-famous  monster  Coast  Redwoods — of 
which  want  of  space  forbids  further  mention. 

Crossing  the  Golden  strait,  the  North  Coast-range  con- 
tinues and  augments  the  forest  growth  with  larger  collec- 
tions of  the  redwood  along  the  many  rivers,  with  larger 
Douglas  Spruce,  Pacific  Red  Cedar,  Tide-land  Spruce, 
California  White  Fir,  Yellow  Pine,  Incense  Cedar,  the 
Prickle-cone  and  North -coast  Scrub  Pine  (with  its  dwarf 
variety,  Bolander's  Pine,  near  Mendocino).  The  inner 
slopes  of  the  range  are  clouded  with  Gray-leaf  Rine, 
while  in  the  Scott  Mountains,  west  of  Shasta  and  near 
the  town  of  Sisson,  appear  small  groves  of  Lawson  Cy- 
press— stray  members  of  the  trib'e  of  trees  that  long  ago 


CONE-BEARERS.  99 

took  up  a  preemption    on    the  shores  of   Coos    Bay, 
Oregon. 

Small,  light-green  trees  of  the  North  coast  Cypress  are 
found  near  the  south  end  of  the  range,  with  the  larger, 
dark-foliaged  Mountain  Cypress  near  Clear  Lake  and 
Ukiah,  while  a  few  Sugar  and  Mountain  Pines  dominate 
the  highest  peaks  of  the  range,  with  Nutmeg  trees  and 
red-berried  Yew  trees  along  the  coast  streams. 

SIERRA    NEVADA. 

Crossing  the  great  Valley  of  California,  we  approach 
the  mighty  Sierra  Nevada,  extending  northwesterly  600 
miles,  with  a  breadth  of  60  miles.  Its  forest — one  of  the 
largest  and  most  valuable  on  the  earth — comprises  many 
species  of  conifers,  which  can  only  be  briefly  mentioned. 

The  lovely  Gray-leaf  Pine  flecks  the  foothills,  the 
darker  Yellow  Pines  crowd  the  upper  slopes,  and  at  ele- 
vations of  4,000  to  5,000  feet  the  columnar  trunks  of  the 
Giant  Sequoia  burst  on  the  sight;  Sugar  Pine,  and  no 
less  monstrous  Douglas  Spruce,  the  California  White  Fir 
and  its  red-barked,  silver-plumaged  relative,  the  Mag- 
nificent Fir,  next  claim  admiration,  while  at  elevations 
of  10,000  to  12,000  feet,  the  forest  is  fringed  with  the 
stately  Mountain  Pine,  and  crowned  with  the  crouching, 
snow-bent  forms  of  the  storm-defying  spires  of  the  White- 
bark  Pine  and  the  drooping-limbed  Alpine  Hemlock. 

As  noted  on  the  loftiest  peaks  of  Arizona — the  San 
Francisco  Mountains — so  the  culminating  peak  of  the 
Southern  Sierra— Mt.  Whitney — is  draped  with  the 
plume-branched  Foxtail  Pine,  and,  similarly,  near  Mt. 
Shasta,  is  sequestered  its  close  relative,  the  BalfourPine. 

From  end  to  end  of  the  Sierra — as  elsewhere  on 
western  mountains — in  high  valleys  are  dense  groves  of 
the  slender,  thin-barked  Tamarack  Pine,  while  large  sec- 
tions are  covered  with  exclusive  forests  of  Black  Pine  or 
of  certain  varieties  of  Yellow  Pine.  The  Narrow-cone 
pine,  holding  fast  to  every  cone  it  ever  bore  on  trunk  and 
limbs,  is  rarely  met  with  in  the  Sierra,  notably  near  Mt. 
Shasta.  The  Incense  Cedar  becomes  a  large  pyramid  on* 


ioo  WEST-AMERICAN 

the  floor  of  Yosemite  Valley,  and  northward.  The 
mountain  form  of  California  Nutmeg  affects  a  portion  of 
the  west  slope,  while  the  Western  Juniper  forms  large 
trees  in  higher  locations,  and  the  rare  Mountain  Cypress 
occurs  near  Castle  Crags. 

Around  the  solitary,  towering  Mt.  Shasta,  stretching 
away  for  miles,  is  a  magificent  Fir  Forest,  composed 
almost  exclusively  of  one  form — the  feather-coned,  per- 
haps distinct  form — of  the  Magnificent  Fir.  With  this 
marked  variety — which  I  have  called  the  Shasta  Fir, 
there  ^rows  near  Wagon  Camp,  the  quite  distinct  Golden 
Fir, being  large  trees,  with  thin,  finely  checked  bark  and 
lovely  golden-colored  cones. 

OREGON    AND    NORTHWARD. 

Crossing  the  Siskiyou  range,  the  natural  dividing  line 
between  California  and  the  far  North — a  range,  by  the 
way,  on  which  is  lodged  the  new  \Veeping  Spruce — we 
find  trees  fostered  by  greater  quantities  of  moisture,  be- 
coming more  numerous,  and  often  of  immense  size,  the 
number  of  species,  however,  being  fewer.  The  head- 
quarters of  this  overgrowth  of  development  is  the  lake- 
dotted  region  around  Puget  Sound,  lying  both  in  Wash- 
ington and  British  Columbia. 

Here  is  the  historic  forest  primeval — vast,  gloomy, 
almost  impenetrable,  where  anciently  the  great  rivers 
heard  no  sound  save  their  own  dashings. 

A  half  dozen  trees  attain  enormous  proportions.  The 
colossal  Douglas  Spruce,  15  to  25  feet  in  diameter  and  300 
to  400  feet  high,  the  scarcely  less  enormous  Tide-land 
Spruce,  and  Engelmann  Spruce,  the  Western  Hemlock, 
the  Grand  Fir,  and  Noble  Fir,  with  the  Pacific  Red  Ce- 
dar, comprise  the  bulk  of  the  forest.  Other  trees,  limited 
in  quantity  and  size,  occupy  special  sites.  The  Lovely 
Fir  and  the  Sub- Alpine  Fir  are  found  near  the  timber 
line  on  Mt.  Hood  and  neighboring  peaks,  as  well  as 
others  far  northward  in  British  Columbia.  Alpine  trees 
battling  with  snows  and  glaciers  are  the  White-barked 
'  Pine,  the  Sub-Alpine  Fir,  and  the  Alpine  Hemlock,  with 
a  prostrate  Prickly-leaved  Juniper  carpeting  the  newly 
vacated  glacier  beds. 


CONE-BEARERS.  101 

The  Alaska  Cypress  comes  down  from  the  Alaska 
Islands  along  the  mountains,  as  far  south  as  Mt.  Hood, 
and  here,  too,  is  the  great  thick-barked  Western  Tamarack, 
and  a  little  farther  northward,  the  Woolly  Tamarack. 

The  Tamarack  Pine  and  the  Mountain  Pine  are  com- 
mon, and  near  Roseburgh,  in  Oregon,  is  the  original  lo- 
cality where  Douglas  discovered  the  Sugar  Pine — still  a 
valuable  product  of  the  region — while  here  and  there 
detached  groves  of  a  form  of  Yellow  Pine  carry  that  inval- 
uable species  far  up  the  valley  of  the  Fraser.  The  cross- 
ranges  of  mountains  also  carry  many  of  the  trees  men- 
tioned eastward  to  Idaho  and  Montana. 

Becoming  smaller  in  northern  regions  and  growing 
close  together,  festooned  with  long,  black,  funereal  tree- 
moss,  certain  trees,  that  are  only  found  on  alpine  heights 
of  southern  latitudes,  are  content  to  strike  root  with 
others  in  the  sphagnum  swamps  of  Alaska,  only  a  few 
feet  above  sea-level,  but  in  a  climate  similar  in  severity 
to  thatof  their  normal  alpine  homes.  Only  half  a  dozen 
conifer  trees,  all  greatly  dwarfed,  and  one  prostrate  shrub, 
can  outlast  the  rigors  of  Alaska  winters— the  Coast  Scrub- 
Pine,  the  Tide-land  Spruce,  Pacific  Red  Cedar,  the 
Western  Hemlock,  and  the  elsewhere  alpine  trees,  the 
Hooker  form  of  the  Alpine  Hemlock,  and  a  creeping 
Juniper  reach  the  northern  border  of  the  great  North- 
west forest. 


102  WEST-AMERICAN 

ANNOUNCEMENT. 


The  undersigned  desires  to  announce  to  the  public 
that,  encouraged  by  the  encomiums  passed  upon 
recent  forestry  articles,  and  the  continued  requests 
for  copies  (over  six  hundred  copies  already  having 
been  sent  out  by  mail)  he  is  preparing  a  comprehen- 
sive work  upon  the  West-American  Cone-bearers, 
north  of  Mexico  and  west  of  the  Kocky  Mountains. 

The  volume  will  mainly  consist  of  articles  contrib- 
uted to  the  press  from  time  to  time  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  particularly  in  late  reports  of  the  Cal- 
ifornia Board  of  Forestry — all  rewritten,  corrected, 
and  also  augmented  by  new.  material  obtained  by 
more  recent  explorations  and  by  correspondence  with 
the  principal  botanists  of  the  coast. 

The  attempt  is  made  to  give,  in  attractive  form, 
scientific  and  popular  descriptions  (in  separate  para- 
graphs) of  this  most  important  family  of  trees,  that 
in  the  West  comprise  some  sixty  species  with  twenty- 
five  marked  varieties,  and  compose  nine-tenths  of  our 
Pacific  forest — at  once  the  largest,  the  most  varied  and 
valuable  in  all  the  earth. 

The  volume  will  contain  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  pages  and  will  be  amply  illustrated  by  copies  of 
photographs  of  characteristic  trees,  taken  in  the  forest, 
or  of  mounted  specimens  in  the  Lemrnon  Herbarium, 
or  copies  of  paintings  by  Mrs.  Lemmon,  sketched 
from  nature. 

It  is  designed  to  issu'e  the  first  edition  in  two  forms: 
one  the  ordinary  form  for  the  library,  the  other  with 
flexible  covers  for  the  gripsack  of  the  traveler. 


CONE-BEARERS.  103 

The  price  per  copy  may  be  Five  Dollars,  but  the 
public  will  be  duly  informed  through  the  scientific 
and  popular  serials  when  the  work  is  issued. 


TESTIMONIALS. 

Professor  C.  S.  Sargent,  editor  of  North  American 
Sylva,  and  publisher  of  Garden  and  Forest,  writes 
editorially  of  my  work  in  the  California  Third  For- 
estry Report,  a  two-column  article,  concluding  with: — 

"Mr.  Lemmon's  report  contains,  in  convenient  and 
acceptable  form,  a  great  amount  of  useful  and  interesting 
information,  botanical,  forestal,  historical,  and  economic, 
relating  to  the  trees  which  compose  the  larger  part  of  the 
Pacific  forests.  ...  It  will  be  welcomed  by  all  seri- 
ous students  of  American  trees,  and  will  take  its  place  in 
permanent  literature." 

Hon.  B.  E.  Fernow,  chief  of  the  Division  of  For- 
estry in  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  writes: — 

"I  hasten  to  express  my  gratification  in  finding  this 
volume  as  full  of  desirable  information  from  your  pen  as 
its  predecessor.  The  illustrations,  too,  are  most  excellent. 
I  heartily  commend  your  work,  and  hope  you  may  carry 
out  your  intentions  of  republishing  in  one  book  all  your 
writings  upon  the  Pacific  slope  forests." 

Hon.  Abbot  Kinney,  vice  president  Am.  Forestry 
Association,  writes: — 

"Your  enthusiasm  is  refreshing.  You  are  doing  royal 
service  to  Western  forestry,  which  will  be  all  the  more 
appreciated  as  time  gives  the  public  opportunity  to  ex- 
amine your  painstaking  classifications  and  graphic 
descriptions. " 


104  CONE-BEARERS. 

Professor  Volney  Rattan,  author  of  "West  Coast 
Botany,"  and  professor  of  botany  in  the  California 
State  Normal  School  at  San  Jose,  writes: — 

"So  skillful  an  attempt  to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos 
of  local  names,  must  result  in  much  good.  .  .  .  From 
the  mostly  very  bad  names,  you  have,  I  think,  wisely 
chosen  the  best,  and  the  new  names  you  have  coined  to 
replace  those  utterly  inappropriate,  are  sure  to  be  adopted. 
.  .  .  The  educational  value  of  your  work  to  the  teach- 
ers, and  through  them  to  the  pupils  of  the  State,  ought 
to  be  patent  to  the  dullest  mind." 

Dr.  Sereno  Watson,  successor  to  Dr.  Asa  Gray,  as 
director  of  Harvard  Herbarium,  Cambridge,  Mass., 
writes:— 

"Your  report  contains  a  wealth  of  information  and  is 
made  up  in  good  shape.  You  and  your  accomplished 
wife  have  done  a  good  deal  of  hard  work  upon  Western 
forestry." 

Dr.  Charles  Mohr,  the  chief  botanist  of  the  South- 
ern States,  writes: — 

"You  have  rendered  botany  and  forestry  an  invaluable 
service,  and  the  botanists  and  tree  lovers  east  of  the 
Rockies  cannot  be  too  thankful  to  you  for  the  information 
we  all  badly  needed." 


Orders  for  "West-American  Cone-Bearers,"  also 
for  Mrs.  Lemruon's  forthcoming  "  West- American 
Ferns  and  Where  They  Grow,"  may  be  forwarded 
at  any  time,  and  will  be  filed  for  reference.  Address 
J.  G.  Lemmon,  or  Mrs.  J.  G.  Lemmon,  Telegraph 
Ave.  and  Thome  St.,  North  Oakland,  Cal. 


Showing  groat  si/o.  furrowed  hark,  cones,  young  troo,  etc. 
of  the  White  or  Soft- wood,  Luiubor  I'inos. 


R 

T 
L( 


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